Method and electronic device for performing exchange of messages

ABSTRACT

An electronic device is provided that easily performs message exchange that exploits the relative position relationship with other vehicles while traveling. The electronic device ( 2 ) includes a display unit ( 11 ), a wireless communication unit ( 20 ) that receives information including positional information of a sender and message information desired by the sender to be transmitted to a correspondence party, a relative position calculation unit ( 41 ) that calculates relative position information of the sender relative to an own device based on the positional information, and a display control unit ( 43 ) that provides a first display region ( 111 ) to the display unit ( 11 ) and display message information in the first display region ( 111 ), as well as displaying relative position information without displaying a map.

This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application Nos. 2014-147139 and 2014-147140,respectively filed on 17 Jul. 2014, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a program, method and electronic devicefor performing communication (exchange of messages) between peoplemoving by transportation means such as vehicles, motorcycles, bicyclestraveling on roads, or boats, and/or between electronic devices carriedby pedestrians (people) (hereinafter referred to as “mobile device”).Hereinafter, vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, boats, or thelike are also referred to as “vehicles, etc.”

For example, as the mobile device, a portable terminal device such as asmartphone, a tablet terminal, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant),notebook computer, mobile telephones, and other portable electronicdevices equipped with a wireless communication function possessed by therider of a transportation means such as a vehicle, or navigation devicesincluding PND (Portable/Personal Navigation Device) and on-boardnavigation devices can be exemplified.

In particular, it relates to a program, method and electronic device forperforming exchange of messages whereby a person (user) riding in thevehicle, etc. can perform mutual understanding (interchange of messages)such as a short text exchange-type conversation (so-called chat) by wayof character data, by an electronic device by way of an easy operationvia wireless communication with another mobile device.

2. Related Art

There is a demand for a plurality of people, dividing between aplurality of transportation means such as vehicles, wanting to enjoyconversation through wireless communication between people riding indifferent vehicles.

For example, when touring in a group, there is a demand for settinginformation of good points for sightseeing in advance in the mobiledevice, and when coming to this site, achieving a mutual understanding(sending a message) in real time between group members, while looking atthe outside scenery. In addition, for example, there is a demand forachieving a mutual understand (sending a message) between group membersat a moment having approached a rest area that had been decidedbeforehand.

In this way, for a short text exchange-type conversation by way ofcharacter data, etc. (hereinafter also referred to as “chat”), the actsin themselves of reading/writing and sending/receiving are also thetargets of enjoyment, and the number of events transmitted anddisplayed, types of information included in the transmitted data of oneevent, and the visibility of these increase the enjoyment.

For this reason, irrespective of the people conversing and people notconversing, a chat is desired that can make an atmosphere in which allof the participants of the chat are present inside the loop of the storyto bring about an atmosphere where the conversation is being enjoyed byeveryone.

In addition, in a case like doing a certain action together in thegroup, chat is desired that can provide an atmosphere in which a senseof solidarity in touring by car or motorcycle, etc., a group feeling,and a sense of unity as a community can be enjoyed.

Patent Document 1 discloses an invention related to chat between users(traveling persons) via mobile telephones set to a positionalinformation setting mode. The invention described in Patent Document 1can make contact even without having contacted a mail address inadvance. Then, this invention described in Patent Document 1 provides achat display screen to a lower portion within a position display screen.The respective positions of a user 0 and users 1 to 3 (icons 500 and 501to 503) are displayed on a display unit 107 within the position displayscreen.

Patent Document 2 discloses an invention related to a mobilecommunication terminal such as a mobile telephone device that realizes achat function using email. The invention described in Patent Document 2registers a member participating in a chat in advance to be associatedwith a member image. By configuring in this way, the complete text ofthe chat mail is displayed within a chat screen D1 in chronologicalorder along with member images mp1 to mp4 as chat messages. The chatscreen D1 is a display screen of a liquid crystal display device builtinto the mobile telephone device 1.

Patent Document 3 describes an invention related to an informationprocessing device that makes an association between a virtual livingobject (avatar) that is an alter ego of the user and chat text, invirtual space. The invention described in Patent Document 3 provides aserif data display area 151 within the screen of a wide screen 140serving as virtual space, displays a balloon at a position correspondingto an avatar therein, and inside thereof, has the text of chatdisplayed.

-   -   Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application,        Publication No. 2007-166189    -   Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application,        Publication No. 2005-18423    -   Patent Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application,        Publication No. 2000-99225

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention described in Patent Document 1 requires all characters tobe read in order to understand who the sender of this message is, andwhat the contents thereof are, since both the sender and the message aredisplayed as text. However, in the invention described in PatentDocument 1, since messages are displayed chronologically, assuming thatone user continuously sends out messages many times, for users otherthan this, a message, not to mention the name of the user thereof, willnot be displayed in any way, and thus the presence of persons notconversing will be weak. In addition, the information displayed issimply aligned chronologically as a row; therefore, it is also poor invariation mechanically.

Furthermore, with the invention described in Patent Document 1, althoughthe position of the user is displayed on the position display screen,since the display screen of map information and the display screen forsending/receiving are arranged in substantially equal parts above andbelow in the display unit of the terminal, it is not possible tosufficiently make use of the display area of the display unit.

Moreover, although positional information is displayed, there is noinformation other than this, and it is not possible to enjoy aconversion other than with the text messages transmitted.

Furthermore, in the case of Patent Document 1, the position display ofthe sender is influenced by the scaling of the map display, and when thescaling is not appropriate, even if a user that is relatively nearby, itmay be outside the screen, and not displayed, or conversely, one or moreother parties may overlap the one's own icon, and it has been impossibleto exploit valuable positional information.

The invention described in Patent Document 2 displays the image of acaller that has been photographed in advance; therefore, it is possibleto easily determine who the message sender is. However, also in theinvention described in Patent Document 2, since messages are displayedchronologically, assuming that one member continuously sends outmessages many times, for members other than this, a message, not tomention the member image thereof, will not be displayed in any way, andthus the presence of members not conversing will be weak.

Furthermore, even with the invention described in Patent Document 2,transmitted messages simply form a row of character strings, and thus ispoor in variation mechanically and impersonal, and thus it has not beenpossible to enjoy conversations other than character messages.

Furthermore, in the case of Patent Document 2, position display of thecaller is not made either.

The invention described in Patent Document 3 is a game console, and thegame itself is made by participation of users. Therefore, the avataracts along the rules of the game, and does not provide a feeling ofsolidarity or sense of unity as a group, for example. Furthermore, inthe case of Patent Document 3, position display of a caller is not madeeither.

The present invention has been made taking account of such problems, andhas an object of providing a program, method and electronic deviceenabling the display of information particularly suited to a smallscreen. In addition, it has an object of providing a program, method andelectronic device that, upon making a conversation of chat format by wayof character data, make an atmosphere in which even people notconversing are present inside the loop of a story, while being in acommunication connection state, thereby bringing about an atmospherewhere the conversation is being enjoyed by everyone to perform messageexchange in an enjoyable manner.

In addition, it has an object of providing a program, method andelectronic device that can bring about an atmosphere in which a sense ofsolidarity of a group, group feeling, and sense of unity as a communitycan be enjoyed in the case of doing a certain activity together in thegroup such as touring by car or motorcycle, for example.

In addition, it has an object of providing a program, method andelectronic device that can provide a user with positional informationparticularly suited to a small screen, based on the own device positionand positional information of another device that is transmitted.

By configuring in this way, it has an object of providing a program,method and electronic device that can facilitate imagining the situationof the sender (speaker), and thus aid in understanding of the receivedmessage information, by intuitively understanding the relative positioninformation of the sender viewed from the receiver, collectively withmessage information from the sender.

In addition, it has an object of providing a program, method andelectronic device that can provide a suitable screen display dependingon the time, place, case, etc., by the user switching between a chatdisplay on a navigation screen on which the interchange of messages ispossible while confirming the positions of the own device and otherdevices on a currently traveled road map, and a chat display byfull-screen display that, upon making a conversion of text format, canmake an atmosphere of persons not speaking also being present inside theloop of the story, whereby it is possible to bring about an atmospherewhere the conversation is being enjoyed by everyone and perform theexchange of messages in an enjoyable manner.

It has an object of providing a program, method and electronic devicethat can switch to a chat display that can bring about an atmosphere inwhich a sense of solidarity of a group, group feeling, and sense ofunity as a community can be enjoyed, in a case of doing a certainactivity together in a group such as touring by car or motorcycle, forexample, when the demand for confirming the positions of the own deviceand other devices on the currently traveled road map is low.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for anelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later)equipped with a display unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later)and a wireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communication unit20 described later) to display, on the display unit, informationincluding user information related to a sender, positional informationof the sender and message information desired by the sender to betransmitted to a correspondence party which are sent and received viathe wireless communication unit, the method comprising the electronicdevice performing the steps of: calculating relative positioninformation of the sender relative to an own device based on positionalinformation of the sender; and displaying, on the display unit,information including user information related to the sender and messageinformation desired by the sender to be transmitted to a correspondenceparty which are sent and received via the wireless communication unit,and relative position information of the sender relative to the owndevice, wherein the step of displaying includes a first display modecontrol step of displaying the user information and the messageinformation in a majority region (e.g., the first display region 111 andsecond display region 112 described later) including a central portionof the display unit, and displaying the relative position information ofthe sender relative to the own device, without displaying a position ona map.

According to the method of the first aspect, since positionalinformation of the sender is provided without displaying the position ona map, it is possible to secure the display region for displayingmessage information to be large, along with the positional informationof the sender not being influenced the scaling of map display. Inaddition, it is possible to facilitate imagining the situation of thesender (speaker), and thus aid in understanding of the received messageinformation, by intuitively understanding the relative positioninformation of the sender viewed from the receiver, collectively withmessage information from the sender.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in the first aspect, the first display mode control stepfurther includes: providing a third display region (e.g., the relativeposition display region 115 described later) that is separate from themajority region (e.g., the first display region 111 and second displayregion 112 described later) in the display unit (e.g., the display unit11 described later), and displaying the relative position information ofthe sender relative to the own device in the third display region.

According to the method of the second aspect, since the relativeposition information of the sender is displayed separately from themessage display region, it is possible to eliminate the influence on themessage display region, and thus it is possible to aid in understandingof the received message information, while imagining the relationshipwith the sender for the receiver and situation of the sender.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in the first aspect, the first display mode control stepdisplays the relative position information of the sender relative to theown device in the majority region (e.g., the first display region 111and second display region 112 described later).

According to the method of the third aspect, since the relative positioninformation is displayed on the same screen, it is possible to securethe message region to be large, and thus it is possible to aid inunderstanding of the received message information, while imagining therelationship with the sender for the receiver and situation of thesender.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in any one of the first to third aspects, the relativeposition information of the sender relative to the own device isdisplayed based on a relative distance between an own device positionand a current position of the sender.

According to the method of the fourth aspect, since the relativeposition information is made information display of relative distancewithout position display on a map, it is possible to make displayfacilitating imagining the situation of the sender, and thus possible toaid in understanding of message information, by intuitivelyunderstanding the distance from the sender from the viewpoint of thereceiver, despite suppressing the occupancy ratio of the screen to below.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the relativeposition information of the sender relative to the own device isdisplayed based on an ahead/behind position from a current position ofthe sender in relation to a moving direction of the own device.

According to the method of the fifth aspect, since the relative positioninformation is made into an information display of relative positionalrelationship without position display on a map, it is possible to makedisplay facilitating imagining the situation of the sender, and thuspossible to aid in understanding of message information, by intuitivelyunderstanding the positional relationship of what ahead or behindposition the sender is at from the viewpoint of the receiver, despitesuppressing the occupancy ratio of the screen to be low.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the relativeposition information of the sender relative to the own device isdisplayed based on a moving direction of the sender in relation to amoving direction of the own device.

According to the method of the sixth embodiment, since the relativeposition information is made into an information display of relativetraveling direction without position display on a map, it is possible tomake display facilitating imagining the situation of the sender, andthus possible to aid in understanding of message information, byintuitively understanding the traveling direction of which direction thesender is heading from the viewpoint of the receiver, despitesuppressing the occupancy ratio of the screen to be low.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the step ofdisplaying further includes: a second display mode control step ofdisplaying map information on the display unit (e.g., the display unit11 described later), and displaying a current position of the own deviceand of the other device that is a communication connection party on themap information, based on positional information of the own device andthe current position of the other device that is the communicationconnection party; and a display mode switching step of switching betweenthe first display mode control step and the second display mode controlstep, according to an instruction from a user.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a method for anelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later)equipped with a display unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later)and a wireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communication unit20 described later) to display, on the display unit, informationincluding user information related to a sender, positional informationof the sender and message information desired by the sender to betransmitted to a correspondence party which are sent and received viathe wireless communication unit, the method comprising the electronicdevice performing the steps of: calculating relative positioninformation of the sender relative to an own device based on positionalinformation of the sender; and displaying, on the display unit,information including user information related to the sender and messageinformation desired by the sender to be transmitted to a correspondenceparty which are sent and received via the wireless communication unit,and relative position information of the sender relative to the owndevice, in which the step of displaying includes a first display modecontrol step of displaying the user information and the messageinformation by providing a display region (e.g., the first displayregion 111 and the second display region 112 described later) in thedisplay unit, and displaying the relative position information of thesender relative to the own device in a separate display region (e.g.,the relative position display region 115 described later) that issmaller than said display region, without displaying a position on amap.

Similar effects as the method of the first aspect are exerted accordingto the method of the eighth aspect.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in the eighth aspect, the step of displaying further includes:a second display mode control step of displaying map information on thedisplay unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later), and displayingthe own device and a current position of the other device that is acommunication connection party on the map information, based onpositional information of the own device and the current position of theother device that is the communication connection party; and a displaymode switching step of switching between the first display mode controlstep and the second display mode control step, according to aninstruction from a user.

According to the method of the ninth aspect, by enabling switchingbetween the first display mode control step and the second display modecontrol step, since it is possible to display at the display screencenter in either case by switching between display of map informationand display of transmitted message information, the visibility is good,and understanding of information is facilitated. Furthermore, it ispossible to select, depending on the time, place, case, etc., so as toexecute the first display control step, in the case of the demand forown device positional display being low as with fellow passengers of acar; or so as to execute the second display control step whereby it ispossible to confirm the positions of the own device and other devices ona currently traveled road map, in the case of the demand for own deviceposition display being high as with the driver of the car.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the method asdescribed in any one of the first to ninth aspects, the wirelesscommunication unit (e.g., the wireless communication unit 20 describedlater) performs direct wireless communication.

According to the method of the tenth aspect, has the effect notrequiring communication expenses and making inexpensive because of beingby direct wireless communication.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, a computerprogram causes the respective steps of the methods as described in anyone of the first to tenth aspects to be executed in a computer of anelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later)equipped with a display unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later)and a wireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communication unit20 described later).

Similar effects as the methods of the first to tenth aspects are exertedaccording to the program of the eleventh aspect.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, an electronicdevice (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later) includes: adisplay unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later); a wirelesscommunication unit (e.g., the wireless communication unit 20 describedlater) that receives information including user information related to asender, positional information of the sender, and message informationdesired by the sender to be transmitted to a correspondence party; arelative position calculation unit (e.g., the relative positioncalculation unit 41 described later) that calculates relative positioninformation of the sender relative to an own device based on thepositional information; and a display control unit (e.g., the displaycontrol unit 43 described later) that displays, on the display unit, theinformation including the user information related to the sender, andthe message information desired by the sender to be transmitted to thecorrespondence party which are sent and received via the wirelesscommunication unit, and the relative position information of the senderrelative to the own device, in which the display control unit includes afirst display mode control section (e.g., the first display mode controlsection 431 described later) that displays the user information and themessage information in a majority region including a central portion ofthe display unit, as well as displaying the relative positioninformation of the sender relative to the own device, without displayinga position on a map.

Similar effects as the method of the first aspect are exerted accordingto the electronic device of the twelfth aspect.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in theelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later) asdescribed in the twelfth aspect, the display control unit (e.g., thedisplay control unit 43 described later) further includes: a seconddisplay mode control section (e.g., the second display mode controlsection 432) that displays map information on the display unit (e.g.,the display unit 11 described later), and displays the own device and acurrent position of other device that is a communication connectionparty on the map information, based on the positional information of theown device and the current position of the other device that is thecommunication connection party; and a display mode switching unit (e.g.,the display mode switching unit 433 described later) that switchesbetween display by the first display mode control section, and displayby the second display mode control section, according to an instructionfrom a user.

Similar effects as the method of the eighth aspect are exerted accordingto the electronic device of the thirteenth aspect.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in a methodfor an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later)equipped with a display unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later)and a wireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communication unit20 described later) to display information on the display unit, themethod includes a display control step of the electronic devicedisplaying, on the display unit, information including user informationrelated to a sender and message information desired by the sender to betransmitted to a correspondence party which are sent and received viathe wireless communication unit, in which the display control stepincludes: a first display mode control step of providing a first displayregion (e.g., the first display region 111) including a central portionof the display unit, and a second display region (e.g., the seconddisplay region 112 described later) positioned at the periphery of thefirst display region to the display unit; displaying the userinformation sent and received via the wireless communication unit ineither one display region among the first display region and the seconddisplay region; and displaying the message information in the otherdisplay region among the first display region and the second displayregion.

According to the method of the fourteenth aspect, by being able toimagine the transmitted message area as a shared portion and thus beingable to render a feeling of a gathering of senders/receivers accordingto the arrangement of information demarcated in a form such as thedisplay portion at the center and the periphery thereof, it is possibleto render an atmosphere in which senders/receiver are enjoying a sharedconversation, and thus able to enjoy a chat conversion.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the methodas described in the fourteenth aspect, the first display mode controlstep further includes: displaying the message information as a messageicon or a framed character display; displaying the user informationrelated to the sender as a user icon; and in a case of makingcommunication connection between a plurality of users including oneselfvia the wireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communicationunit 20 described later), and displaying a plurality of the userinformation or the message information in the second display region(e.g., the second display region 112 described later), assigning, with areference of an arrangement of the user information or the messageinformation displayed first, an arrangement of the user information orthe message information to be displayed second and later, based on anumber of users including oneself being in communication connection.

According to the method of the fifteenth aspect, it is possible torealize information effectively with a display unit of limited area byway of the display of message icons and user icons. Furthermore, sincethe arrangement positions of message icons and user icons are allocatedbased on the number of communication connections, the screen isorganized, and thus information tends to be intuitively understood. Inaddition, it is possible to render an enjoyable atmosphere. Furthermore,since the arrangement positions of message icons and user icons changein response to fluctuation in the number of communication connections,the change on the screen is great, and thus the matter of theconnections increasing or decreasing is easily understood intuitively.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the methodas described in the fifteenth aspect, the first display mode controlstep further includes: displaying the second display region (e.g., thesecond display region 112 described later) in at least an arc/U-shape,preferably a circumferential shape; and in a case of makingcommunication connection between a plurality of users including oneselfvia the wireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communicationunit 20 described later), and displaying a plurality of the userinformation or the message information in the second display region,assigning an arrangement of the user information or the messageinformation to be displayed second and later, by dividing by the numberof users including oneself being in communication connection, with areference of an arrangement of the user information or the messageinformation displayed first.

According to the method of the sixteenth aspect, an atmosphere in whichsenders/receivers are enjoying a shared conversation can be rendered,and thus a chat conversation can be enjoyed, by way of an arrangement ofa shared portion at the center and individual information such thatsurrounds the this.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in themethod as described in the fifteenth aspect, the first display modecontrol step further includes: setting the second display region (e.g.,the second display region 112 described later) by dividing by anarbitrary displayable number in advance; and in a case of makingcommunication connection between a plurality of users including oneselfvia the wireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communicationunit 20 described later), and displaying a plurality of the userinformation or the message information in the second display region,assigning an arrangement of the user information or the messageinformation to be displayed second and later in the second displayregion that was set by dividing.

According to the method of the seventeenth aspect, since the arrangementpattern of the message icons and user icons is decided in advance(position at which to be manifested are fixed), the screen is organizedirrespective of how connected, and information tends to be understoodintuitively. In addition, even in the case of a new member participatingin a chat, an atmosphere in which the new member is also naturally addedinto the loop of the story is made, whereby it is possible to bringabout an atmosphere where the conversation is being enjoyed by everyoneand perform the exchange of messages in an enjoyable manner.

According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in themethod as described in any one of the fourteenth to seventeenth aspects,the display control step further includes: a second display mode controlstep of displaying map information in a central portion of the displayunit based on positional information of the own device, and displayingthe own device and a current position of another device that is acommunication connection party on the display unit (e.g., the displayunit 11 described later); and a display mode switching step of switchingbetween the first display mode control step, and the second display modecontrol step, according to an instruction from a user.

According to the method of the eighteenth aspect, by enabling switchingbetween the first display mode control step and the second display modecontrol step, since it is possible to display at the display screencenter in either case by switching between display of map informationand display of transmitted message information, the visibility is good,and understanding of information is facilitated. Furthermore, it ispossible to select, depending on the time, place, case, etc., so as toexecute the first display control step, in the case of the demand forown device positional display being low as with fellow passengers of acar; or so as to execute the second display control step whereby it ispossible to confirm the positions of the own device and other devices ona currently traveled road map, in the case of the demand for own deviceposition display being high as with the driver of the car.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the methodas described in the eighteenth aspect, the second display mode controlstep further displays map information in a central portion of thedisplay unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later), and displaysthe user information and the message information in a peripheral portionof the display unit.

According to the method of the nineteenth aspect, the confirmation oftransmitted information is possible while mainly displaying mapinformation, visibility is good, and the understanding of information isfacilitated. In addition, by configuring in this way, the pleasure ofthe conversation can also be continued.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the methodas described in the nineteenth aspect, the second display mode controlstep further arranges a widget (e.g., the second button widget 114Bdescribed later) that can be made to slide-in and slide-out at theperipheral portion of the display unit (e.g., the display unit 11described later), and selectively displays the user information and themessage information by the widget.

According to the method of the twentieth aspect, by making a widget toslide-out to make non-display in a case of configuration of informationincluding the user information related to the sender and messageinformation desired by the sender to be transmitted to a correspondenceparty is not required, the occupied area by the display of thisinformation can be reduced, and thus understanding of map informationimproves.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, in themethod as described in the nineteenth or twentieth aspect, the seconddisplay mode control step further displays, by way of an icon, userinformation related to the user and at least a part of messageinformation desired by the user to be transmitted to a correspondenceparty.

According to the method of the twenty-first aspect, it is possible tosuppress the occupied space held in the display unit by the userinformation related to the sender and message information desired by thesender to be transmitted to a correspondence party, visibility is good,and thus the understanding of information is facilitated. In addition,an effect is exerted whereby the pleasure of conversation can also berendered.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in themethod as described in any one of the fourteenth to twenty-firstaspects, the wireless communication unit (e.g., the wirelesscommunication unit 20 described later) performs direct wirelesscommunication.

According to the method of the twenty-second aspect, has the effect notrequiring communication expenses and making inexpensive because of beingby direct wireless communication.

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, a computerprogram causes the respective steps of the methods as described in anyone of the fourteenth to twenty-second aspects to be executed in acomputer of an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2described later) equipped with a display unit (e.g., the display unit 11described later) and a wireless communication unit (e.g., the wirelesscommunication unit 20 described later).

Similar effects as the methods of the fourteenth to twenty-secondaspects are exerted by the program according to the twenty-third aspect.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, anelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later)includes: a display unit (e.g., the display unit 11 described later); awireless communication unit (e.g., the wireless communication unit 20described later); and a display control unit (e.g., the display controlunit 43 described later) that displays information including userinformation related to a sender and message information desired by thesender to be transmitted to a correspondence party, which are sent andreceived via the wireless communication unit, in which the displaycontrol unit includes: a first display mode control section (e.g., thefirst display mode control section 431) that provides a first displayregion (e.g., the first display region 111 described later) including acentral portion of the display unit, and a second display region (e.g.,the second display region 112) positioned at the periphery of the firstdisplay region in the display unit; displays the user information sentand received via the wireless communication unit in either one displayregion among the first display region and the second display region, anddisplays the message information in the other display region among thefirst display region and the second display region.

Similar effects as the method of the fourteenth aspect are exerted bythe electronic device according to the twenty-fourth aspect.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in theelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2 described later) asdescribed in the twenty-fourth aspect, the display control unit (e.g.,the display control unit 43 described later) further includes: a seconddisplay mode control section (e.g., the second display mode controlsection 432 described later) that displays, on the display unit (e.g.,the display unit 11 described later), map information in a centralportion of the display unit based on positional information of an owndevice, and displays the own device and a current position of an otherdevice that is a communication connection party; and a display modeswitching unit (e.g., the display mode switching unit 433 describedlater) that switches between display by the first display mode controlsection (e.g., the first display mode control section 431 describedlater)) and display by the second display mode control section (e.g.,the second display mode control section 432 described later), accordingto an instruction from a user.

Similar effects as the method of the eighteenth aspect are exerted bythe electronic device according to the twenty-fifth aspect.

According to the present invention, upon making a conversation of chatformat by way of character data, an atmosphere of persons not speakingalso being present inside the loop of the story is made, whereby it ispossible to bring about an atmosphere where the conversation is beingenjoyed by everyone and perform the exchange of messages in an enjoyablemanner.

In addition, according to the present invention, in the case of doing acertain activity together in a group such as touring by car ormotorcycle, etc., it is possible to create an atmosphere in which afeeling of solidarity of the group, group feeling, and sense of unity asa community can be enjoyed.

In addition, according to the present invention, by enabling switchingbetween the first display mode and the second display mode, since byswitching between either map information and transmitted information, itis possible to display at the display screen center, the visibility isgood and understanding of information is facilitated. Furthermore, it ispossible to select, depending on the time, place, case, etc., betweenthe first display mode whereby it is possible to imagine the transmittedmessage area as a shared portion, and thus possible to render a feelingof a gathering of senders/receivers in which the senders/receivers enjoya chat conversation, in the case of the demand for own device positionaldisplay being low as with fellow passengers of a car; and a seconddisplay mode whereby it is possible to confirm the positions of the owndevice and other devices on a currently traveled road map, in the caseof the demand for own device position display being high as with thedriver of the car, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of anelectronic device 2 of a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the data organization stored by astorage unit 32 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a view showing examples of message icons;

FIG. 4A is a view showing a display example of a display unit 11 of theelectronic device 2 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4B is a view showing a display example displaying a button widget114 on the display unit 11 of the electronic device 2 of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 4C is a view showing an operation example for slide-in/slide-out ofthe button widget 114 on the display unit 11 of the electronic device 2of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4D is a view showing a display example of a relative positiondisplay region 115 displayed on the display unit 11 of the electronicdevice 2 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 4E is a view showing a display example of user icons beingdynamically additionally arranged in a second display region 112, in thecase of there being a connection of a new mobile device to theelectronic device 2 of the present embodiment;

FIG. 4F is a view showing a display example of a first display region111 of a message, in the case of the electronic device 2 of the firstembodiment receiving this message;

FIG. 4G is a view showing a display example of the first display region111 of a text message, in the case of the electronic device 2 of thefirst embodiment receiving this text message;

FIG. 4H is a view showing a screen transition example in a case of theelectronic device 2 of the first embodiment sending a message;

FIG. 4I is a view showing a screen transition example in a case of theelectronic device 2 of the first embodiment sending a voicemail;

FIG. 4J is a view showing a display example of the display unit 11 ofthe electronic device 2 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5A is a view showing a display example of a relative positiondisplay region 115 displayed on the display unit 11 of the electronicdevice 2 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a view showing a display example of a leading vehicledisplayed in the relative position display region 115 of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5C is a view showing a display example of an oncoming vehicledisplayed in the relative position display region 115 of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5D is a view showing a display example of a trailing vehicledisplayed in the relative position display region 115 of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5E is a view showing a display example of a front-right vehicledisplayed in the relative position display region 115 of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5F is a view showing a display example of a front-left vehicledisplayed in the relative position display region 115 of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 5G is a view showing a display example of two traffic lanes in therelative position display region 115 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5H is a view showing a display example of an oncoming vehicle inthe opposite lane of two traffic lanes in the relative position displayregion 115 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5I is a view showing a display example of moving to a plural mobiledevice list display screen, by tapping the relative position displayregion 115 displayed on the display unit 11 of the electronic device 2of the first embodiment;

FIG. 5J is a view showing an arrangement display example based on therelative distance of user icons in the second display region 112 on thedisplay unit 11 of the electronic device 2 of the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of anelectronic device 2 of a second embodiment;

FIG. 7A is a view showing an example of a second display (map display)of the second embodiment;

FIG. 7B is a view showing a display example displaying a second buttonwidget 114B on the second display (map display) of the secondembodiment;

FIG. 7C is a view showing another display example displaying the secondbutton widget 114B on the second display (map display) of the secondembodiment;

FIG. 7D is a view showing an operation example of slide-in/slide-out ofthe second button widget 114B on the second display (map display) of thesecond embodiment;

FIG. 7E is a view showing an operation example related to switchingbetween the second display (map display) and first display (full-screendisplay) of the second embodiment;

FIG. 7F is a view showing a display example in which member icons aredynamically additionally arranged on the map display, in a case of therebeing connection of a new mobile device, on the second display (mapdisplay) of the second embodiment;

FIG. 7G is a view showing an example of member icons becomingnon-display on the map display, in a case of a connected mobile devicehaving disconnected, on the second display (map display) of the secondembodiment;

FIG. 7H is a view showing a display example of a text message, in a caseof receiving this text message, on the second display (map display) ofthe second embodiment; and

FIG. 7I is a view showing a screen transition example in a case ofsending a message, in the second display (map display) of the secondembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION First Embodiment

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an electronic device of thepresent invention will be explained while referencing the drawings.First, an electronic device according to a first embodiment will beexplained by referencing FIG. 1.

(Functional Configuration of Electronic Device According to FirstEmbodiment

A vehicle, etc. according to the first embodiment indicates an ownvehicle 1 that travels on roads, and other vehicles, motorcycles,bicycles, pedestrians, as well as boats, etc.

It should be noted that an identification ID for uniquely identifyingthe electronic device is assigned to electronic devices equipped tovehicles, etc. (or carried, or present inside) (hereinafter alsoreferred to as “mobile device”), and it is possible to identify whetherthe electronic device is equipped to a vehicle, etc. that is a vehicle,motorcycle, boat, bicycle or pedestrian according to the identificationID.

The electronic device 2 according to the first embodiment includesnavigation devices including an on-board navigation device, PND(Personal Navigation Device), or the like, portable terminal devicessuch as smartphones, a tablet terminal, a PDA, a notebook computer, amobile telephone and other portable electronic devices equipped with awireless communication function. In particular, it is suited toelectronic devices provided with a small screen display having a screensize within 10 inches, and particularly no more than 7 inches. However,it can also be applied to electronic devices provided with a displayhaving a screen size of 10 inches or more.

It should be noted that, in the case of the vehicle, etc. being abicycle or pedestrian, the electronic device 2 is configured to includea portable terminal, etc. (smartphone, etc.).

The functional configuration of the electronic device 2 according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention will be explained byreferencing FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing thefunctional configuration of the electronic device 1 equipped to thevehicle, etc. according to the first embodiment.

The electronic device 2 carried by the vehicle, etc. according to thefirst embodiment (hereinafter also referred to as “mobile device” orsimply “own device” unless otherwise stated) is configured to include acontrol unit 40, wireless communication unit 20, GPS receiver, GPSprocessing unit 31, storage unit 32, display unit 11, speaker 12,microphone 13, operation unit 14 and camera 15, and is carried in amobile means such as a vehicle.

Message Exchange

As the stylized (and fixed) phrase message exchanged between the owndevice and an electronic device carried by another vehicle, etc.(hereinafter also referred to as “other mobile device” or simply “otherdevice” unless otherwise stated), for example, when any group membersmake a touring drive in a plurality of vehicles, there are proposalmessages such as “restroom break”, “coffee time”, “convenience store”and “rest” and reply messages such as “roger” relative to these, andreply messages such as “thank you” conveying an expression of gratitudein the interaction with a party, and proposal messages such as a changeof destination among the group, reply messages relative to this, and thelike, interchanging in real-time with the cars of group members.

In addition, for example, there are stylized (and fixed) phrase messagesrelated to greetings such as “hello”, and advance unseen trafficobstacles from oncoming vehicles, etc.

In addition, for example, at intersections, etc., there are stylized(and fixed) phrase messages (e.g., stylized (and fixed) phrase messagesuch as “crossing”) of a pedestrian present notification, notificationof road crossing, or the like.

It should be noted that, as the messages exchanged between the owndevice and other device, other than stylized (and fixed) phrasemessages, for example, it is possible to include messages such as cameraimages, text messages and voicemail. It should be noted that the cameraimages, text messages, etc. can be displayed within frames.

The messages exchanged between the own device and other device, inaddition to message information, can include the identification ID foruniquely identifying the own device and other mobile devices, GPSinformation, time information, profile information (referred to as “userinformation”) related to the sender (user), information classification,information urgency and information importance. Herein, the profileinformation related to the sender (user) can include identificationinformation (also referred to as “member information” or “personalinformation”) of the sender (user), attribute information (“alsoreferred to as “unit information”) of the sender (user), etc. In thecase of the sender riding in a vehicle, it is possible to includevehicle model information of this vehicle.

(Attribute Information (Unit Information))

Attribute information (unit information) of the sender (user) isinformation indicating to which group the sender (user) belongs. Asexamples of attribute information (unit information) of the sender(user), the vehicle ridden by the sender (user) can be exemplified.

For example, in the case of a plurality of users going out touring byriding separately in a plurality of vehicles, by setting the attributeinformation (unit information) of the user as the ridden vehicles of theusers, in the case of performing chatting while touring, it is possibleto display to be sorted based on the vehicle ridden by the sender(speaker).

By configuring in this way, it is possible to intuitively understand inwhich vehicle the sender (speaker) is riding, in addition to informationof “who is the sender (speaker)”. While chatting, it is possible tofacilitate imagining the situation of the sender (speaker), and thus aidin understanding of the received message information.

It should be noted that the attribute information (unit information) isnot limited to the vehicle. For example, in the case of touring, etc.with a plurality of families, it is possible to define each “family” asthe unit information. In addition, in the case of a plurality of groupshaving different final destinations touring, etc., it is possible todefine the “final destination” as the unit information. In this way, theunit information can be set according to the time, place, situation,etc., in the case of grouping a plurality of senders.

Hereinafter, if not particularly stated, the information will becollectively referred to as “communication information”.

The wireless communication unit 20, in the case of sending/receivingwith another mobile device, for example, in a case of sending/receivingwith a server WiFi direct communication enabling 1:N communication or1:1 communication, it is possible to implement a plurality ofcommunication protocols so as to be able to make communication such asWiFi access point connection or 3G/LTE (3^(rd) Generation/Long TermEvolution).

By WiFi direct communication, the own device can make direct wirelesscommunication with other mobile devices in the surroundings that arewithin a communicable area about 100 m away. In addition, with themobile device within the communicable area as an access point, it ispossible to make wireless communication with other mobile devices thatare within the communicable area of this mobile device. By configuringin this way, for example, it becomes possible for the own device toexpand the communicable area.

In addition, the own device is configured to be able to perform wirelesscommunication with a server such as a VICS (registered trademark) centeror navigation server, for example, by way of WiFi access pointconnection, 3G/LTE, etc. The wireless communication unit 20 can receivedata such as map information and traffic information, for example, fromsuch a server.

It should be noted that the communication protocol possessed by thewireless communication unit 20 is not limited to WiFi directcommunication, WiFi access point connection or 3G/LTE. The wirelesscommunication unit 20 may possess a communication protocol enabling 1:1communication and 1:N communication for directly sending/receiving withanother mobile device, and a communication protocol forsending/receiving with servers, etc.

The wireless communication unit 20 has an information receiving unit 21that receives communication information from another mobile device, andan information sending unit 22 that sends communication from the owndevice to another mobile device.

The GPS processing unit 31 receives radio waves including positioningdata containing the latitude/longitude of the current site from aplurality of GPS satellites via the GPS receiver (not illustrated), andcalculates the current position of the own device based on thepositioning data and map information of a currently traveled road.

Display Unit

The display unit 11 is configured, for example, by a liquid crystaldisplay, etc. provided at a main body front face of the electronicdevice 2 such as a smartphone, and can display various icons, etc.expressing communication information to the user according to a displaycontrol unit 43 described later.

Next, it will be explained how various information is displayed by iconsdisplayed on the display unit 11. It should be noted that the display onthe display unit 11 explained hereinafter is controlled by the displaycontrol unit 43 described later.

(Message Icon)

The stylized (and fixed) phrase message, for example, plurality ofstylized (and fixed) phrase messages such as communication informationamong peers such as proposal messages of “restroom break”, “coffeetime”, “convenience store”, “rest”, etc. and reply messages such as“roger” to the proposal message; a message conveying an expression ofgratitude such as “thank you” to convey the expression of gratitude inthe interaction with another party; greetings such as “hello”; and“traffic obstacle information” like “upcoming traffic delay”; areassociated with an icon expressing as a message symbol (hereinafter alsoreferred to as “message icon”).

By configuring in this way, it is possible to simplify the display of astylized (and fixed) phrase message received via the wirelesscommunication unit 20, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A as the messageicon 501. It should be noted that examples of message icons are shown inFIG. 3.

In addition, as a message exchanged between the own device and otherdevice, for example, it is possible to include messages such as cameraimages, text messages and voicemail. In this case, the camera image,text message, etc. can be a framed image display or framed characterdisplay of a fixed form decided in advance in a certain size.

(Effects of Message Icon)

By configuring in this way, for example, it is possible to exert thefollowing such effects.

(1) When displaying a text message as is, it is not intuitivelyunderstood and requires reading; whereas, due to being a figure orgraphical, intuitive understanding is possible.

(2) In the case of displaying a text message as is, although thecoverage area overhangs to the screen center side, in the case of amessage of an icon representation, due to being able to set to aconstant size, it is possible to suppress the overhanging by thisamount.

(3) By preparing message icons as sender/receiver common patterns,storing and saving these in each device, using not the image data itselfin the communication data, but rather identification information, anddisplaying by calling the data stored on the receiver side based onthis, it is possible to lighten the sent/received data by this amount,which is convenient in communication, especially short-distance wirelessdirect communication.

(Member Icon)

As shown in FIG. 4A, for example, in the case of expressing on thedisplay unit 11 with the identification information of the sender (user)participating in the chat as a character, the character is referred toas member icon 502. The mobile device used by this sender can beexpressed by a member icon representing this sender.

Hereinafter, unless particularly stated, the member icon will beexplained with the face of the user as an example; however, the memberinformation is not limited to the face of the user. For example, thedesign of a car may be set as the member icon.

(Unit Icon)

In the case of expressing on the display unit 11 with the attributeinformation (unit information) of the sender (user) participating in thechat as a character, this character is referred to as unit icon. Forexample, in the case of defining the attribute information (unitinformation) of this sender as the ridden vehicle, it is possible toexpress by the unit icon representing this vehicle. In the presentembodiment, it will be explained with the unit icon representing thevehicle as an example.

In this way, among the user information of the sender (user), it ispossible for the identification information of the user (“memberinformation”) to be expressed by the member icon, and the attributeinformation of the user (“unit information”) to be expressed by the uniticon.

Hereinafter, both the member icon and unit icon are also referred to asuser icon. In other words, the user icon indicates either the membericon or the unit icon.

The user icon (member icon and unit icon) can be registered in advanceusing a setting screen displayed by depressing a setting button 1142described later. The user can set the user icon by using a templatecreated in advance. In addition, it is also possible for the user tocreate.

Then, in the case of the user registering the face of a person in themember icon, the face of the person registered as the member icon willbe displayed on the display unit 11. In addition, in the case of theuser registering a car as the unit icon, the car registered as the uniticon will be displayed on the display unit 11.

The user icon corresponding to the mobile device that is the sendingsource of a message and the message icon corresponding to this messagecan be made so as to display to be associated by the balloon 504, asshown in FIG. 4A, for example.

(Full-Screen Display)

Next, the arrangement pattern upon displaying the message icons and usericons on the display unit 11 will be explained.

In the present embodiment, upon performing chatting, the user icons andmessage icons are displayed using the entire screen of the display unit11. Hereinafter, the display mode thereof will be explained.

In FIGS. 4A to 4I, etc. exemplified below, the member icon is displayedas the user icon; however, it is not limited to only the member icon.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4J, for a user belonging to a unit group,it is possible to display not each member icon, but rather the unit icon503 as the user icon.

More specifically, it is possible to do advance setting registering todisplay either the member icon or the unit icon as the user icon of thesender on the receiving side, by way of an information setting unit 44described later.

In addition, on the sending side, it is possible to do advance settingregistering to send only either the member icon or unit icon as the usericon of the sender, or to send both icons, by way of the informationsetting unit 44 described later. For example, on the sending side, inthe case of sending only either of the member icon or unit icon as theuser icon of the sender, it is possible to display either of the membericon or unit icon sent as the user icon of the sender at the receivingside. In addition, on the sending side, in the case of sending both ofthe icons, it is possible to determine which of the member icon or uniticon to display as the user icon of the sender according to the settingson the receiving side.

Upon display of the unit icon and member icon, for example, it ispossible to display to distinguish between both by setting thebackground color of the unit icon and/or color of the periphery of theicon, etc. to different colors than that of the member icon.

(First Display Region)

As shown in FIG. 4A, the message icon corresponding to a stylized (andfixed) phrase message received via the wireless communication unit 20 isdisplayed within a circular region (hereinafter referred to as “firstdisplay region 111”), for example, provided at the center of the displayunit 11, for example, by a first display mode control section 431described later. The message icon can be set to an appropriate size thatis easy to see when displayed on the screen. It should be noted that thefirst display region 111 is not limited to a region surrounded by acircle provided at the center on the display unit 11, and the firstdisplay region 111 can be set as any region including the centralportion on the display unit 11.

(Second Display Region)

As shown in FIG. 4A, the user icons corresponding to other mobile devicethat are currently communicable are displayed in a circular belt-shapeddisplay region (hereinafter referred to as “second display region 112”)provided at the periphery of the first display region 111 on the displayunit 11.

It should be noted that the second display region 112 is not limited toa circular belt-shaped display region. For example, it may beestablished as an arc, U-shape, or circumference shaped display region.In addition, a square or tile-piece icon may be arranged at theperiphery of the first display region 111.

In addition, a user icon corresponding to the user making communicationusing the own device (hereinafter also referred to as “user iconcorresponding to own device”) may be displayed in the second displayregion 112. In this case, in order to distinguish between the user iconcorresponding to own device and a user icon corresponding to a usermaking communication using the other mobile device (hereinafter alsoreferred to as “user icon corresponding to other mobile device”), it ispossible to display the user icon corresponding to own device at apredetermined location of the second display region 112 (for example,central far left of second display region 112), as shown in FIG. 4A. Itshould be noted that the predetermined location is not limited to thecentral far left of the second display region 112. It is possible to setto any location of the first display region 111, by way of theinformation setting unit 44, described later.

The plurality of user icons corresponding to mobile devicesparticipating in the chat (i.e. in a currently communicable state) canbe arranged on the second display region 112 with predeterminedintervals, by the first display mode control section 43 described later.

For example, letting the number of user icons currently displayed ben(>1), it is possible to arrange at equal intervals by dividing thesecond display region 112 into n number of regions, by the angle θ1shown in formula (1).

θ1=360°/n  (formula (1))

In this case, in response to a communication connection with a newmobile device being established via the wireless communication unit 20,by way of the first display mode control section 431, it is possible todynamically rearrange with predetermined intervals on the second displayregion 112 the user icons corresponding to all of the mobile devicesparticipating in the chat, including the user icon correspond to the newmobile device.

In addition, as a separate modified example, by way of the first displaymode control section 431, the user icon arrangement locations areprepared with predetermined intervals so as to be able to arrange apredetermined number (e.g., M number) of user icons in advance in thesecond display region 112.

For example, it is possible to arrange at the display regions (screenpositions) established in connection order, by dividing the seconddisplay region 112 into M-number of regions, by the angle θ2 shown in(formula 2).

θ2=360°/M  (formula 2)

It should be noted that the regions divided and set are not limited toarcs, U-shapes and circumferential shapes, and may be arranged in tileform.

In this case, a user icon corresponding to a new mobile device can beadditionally arranged in a free display region (screen position) on thesecond display region 112, in response to a communication connectionwith a new mobile device being established via the wirelesscommunication unit 20, by way of the first display mode control section431, as described later. By displaying “free” intentionally in this way,it is possible to clearly show the matter of there being no connection.For example, it is intuitively understood that there is a remainingpermitted number of connections, and a situation has arisen in whichthere is a participant that was temporarily connected and thendisconnected.

(Association Between Message Icon and User Icon)

As shown in FIG. 4A, it can be configured so that the message iconcorresponding to the mobile device that is the sending source of themessage is displayed in the second display region 112, and the messageicon corresponding to this message is displayed to be associated to theuser icon by way of a balloon in the first display region 111.

By arranging all of the user icons corresponding to mobile devicesparticipating in the chat (i.e. in a currently communicable state) withpredetermined intervals on the second display region 112, upon making aconversation of chat format, it is possible to make an atmosphere ofpersons not speaking also being present inside the loop of the story,thereby bringing about an atmosphere where the conversation is beingenjoyed by everyone and performing the exchange of messages in anenjoyable manner. In addition, in the case of doing a certain activitytogether in a group, it is possible to create an atmosphere in which afeeling of solidarity of the group, group feeling, and sense of unity asa community are enjoyed.

It should be noted that, in the above-mentioned example, although themessage icon is displayed in the first display region 111 provided atthe center of the display unit 11, and the member icon is displayed inthe second display region 112 provided at the periphery of the firstdisplay region 111, the display locations of the message icon and usericon are not limited to the above description. The user icon may bedisplayed inside the first display region 111, and the message icon maybe displayed in the second display region 112.

(List of Selectable Message Icons)

As shown in FIG. 4A, it is possible to display a list of message iconscorresponding to selectable stylized (and fixed) phrase messages in apredetermined display region (hereinafter referred to as “third displayregion 113”) provided at a lower part, for example, on the display unit11. The icon has a button function for selection and sending, and asdescribed later, in the case of sending a stylized (and fixed) phrasemessage to a mobile device participating in the chat, the user cansimply send this stylized (and fixed) phrase message by way of themessage processing unit 45 described later, by selecting a message iconcorresponding to the message that is trying to be sent, from the list ofa plurality of message icons displayed in the third display region 113.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when a button for selecting a category of messages(for example, convoy, traffic obstacle, etc.) is displayed at an upperpart within the third display region, and selecting by tapping, forexample, a category display location of messages, it can be made so thatthe list of message icons corresponding to messages belonging to thiscategory is displayed at a lower part within the third display region113. It should be noted that it can be made so that a hidden messageicon is displayed by scrolling a lower part within the third displayregion 113 by way of a left-right swipe operation. From the selection ofa message to be sent until the sending processing are performed byclicking or tapping this message icon.

In addition, as another modified example, it is possible to display bydividing the display of message icons into two stages. In this case,among the two stages, it is possible to make one as a fixed formataligning predetermined message icons, and make the other one a variableformat switchable (scrollable) by way of a flip or the like, forexample. It is possible to improve the operability by allocatingmessages having a high frequency of use or messages that can reply to animmediate reply demand to the one stage on the fixed side.

It should be noted that the message icons displayed in the third displayregion are normally displayed to be small. Therefore, in the case of thethird display region being provided at a lower side, for example, on thedisplay unit 11, it is also possible to display a message icon to beenlarged by a flip action from bottom to top.

In addition, by extended pressing of a message icon being displayed inthe third display region 113, it is possible to display a registrationscreen for registering any contents in this icon.

The arrangement of the third display region 113 is not limited to thelower side on the display unit 11, and may be arranged at apredetermined position such as the upper side, for example, on thedisplay unit 11.

In addition, in the case of displaying the display of message icons tobe divided into two stages, it may be arranged by separating one at theupper side of the display unit 11, and the other at the lower side ofthe display unit 11.

(Button Widget)

As shown in FIG. 4B, it is possible to display a widget (hereinafteralso referred to as “button widget 114”) that includes various operationbuttons at a left side, for example, on the display unit 11.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the button widget 114 can be made toslide-in/slide-out on the display unit 11, by way of a swipe operation(operation making a finger slide while the finger contacts the screen).In a state in which the button widget 114 is not being displayed on thedisplay unit 11, the button widget 114 is made to slide-in to the leftside of the display unit 11 by making a finger contact the display unit11 and then sliding to the right direction. In addition, in a state inwhich the button widget 114 is being displayed on the display unit 11,the button widget 114 is made to slide-out from the left side of thedisplay unit 11 by making a finger contact the display unit 11 and thensliding to the left direction.

It should be noted that slide-in/slide-out of the button widget 114 maybe activated only in the case of a slide operation by multi-touch, andbe inactivated in the case of a slide operation by single-touch.

The button widget 114 includes a convoy button 1141, a setting button1142, a voicemail button 1143, a camera image button 1144, a text button1145, etc.

The setting button 1142 is a button for displaying a setting screen toperform settings such as user profile information (user information). Bydepressing the setting button 1142, the setting screen is displayed onthe display unit 11, whereby it is possible to appropriately perform thesetting of model information of the own car, identification informationof the user (“member information”) and attribution information of theuser (“unit information”), settings such as greeting messages, etc.,according to the time, place, conditions, etc. It should be noted that,as mentioned above, upon setting, it is possible to use a templateestablished in advanced. In addition, it is also possible for the userto create.

For example, a portrait photo (or sketch) of oneself can be set as themember icon, and a photograph (or picture) of a car can be set as theunit icon.

Furthermore, in the case of displaying a received message, by selectingon the receiving side, it is possible to set each of to display eitherof the member information or unit information in the second displayregion 112 (or first display region 111), for example, or to displayeither of the member information or unit information in the relativeposition display region 115 described later.

Similarly, in the case of sending a connection request or message toanother mobile device, it is possible to set and register in advanceeither to send only either of the member icon or unit icon as the usericon corresponding to the own device, or to send both icons.

The voicemail button 1143 is a button for a user to create a voicemail.By depressing or touching the voicemail button 1143, the user can createa voicemail by following the guidance displayed on the display unit 11(or guided by audio). After voicemail creation, the voicemail is sent tomobile devices participating in the chat (i.e. in a currentlycommunicable state) by way of the message processing unit 45 describedlater.

The camera image button 1144 is a button for the user to create an imagemessage by way of a built-in camera. By depressing or touching thecamera image button 1144, it enters an image-capture mode, whereby animage message can be created. After image message creation, the imagemessage is sent to mobile devices participating in the chat (i.e. in acurrently communicable state) by way of the message processing unit 45described later.

The text button 1145 is a button for creating a text message. Bydepressing or touching the text button 1145, the user can edit text tocreate a text message. After text message creation, the text message issent to mobile devices participating in the chat (i.e. in a currentlycommunicable state) by way of the message processing unit 45 describedlater.

(Form of Button Widget)

The button widget 114 is preferably takes a form such that the widthbecomes narrower at a central part in the vertical direction of thedisplay unit 11. By configuring in this way, it is possible to make soas not to inhibit the display of message icons and member icons in thefirst display region 111 and second display region 112.

In addition, the button widget 114 may be configured so as to consist ofa right button widget provided at the right side of the display unit 11and a left button widget provided at the left side of the display unit11, for example, and may include a button possessed by the button widget114 at either of the right button widget or left button widget.

For example, by configuring so as to include the convoy button 1141 andsetting button 1142 at the right button widget and to include thevoicemail button 1143, camera image button 1144, etc. at the left buttonwidget, it is possible to increase the region of the central part, whichis free of buttons of the right button widget and left button widget,respectively.

By configuring in this way, it is possible to configure so as not toinhibit the display of the message icon and member icon in the firstdisplay region 111 and second display region 112, for a wider range.

It should be noted that it is possible to configure so as to make toslide-in/slide-out the right button widget from the right side and theleft button widget from the left side, respectively.

(Relative Position Display Region)

As shown in FIG. 5A, the display region for displaying the relativeposition of a mobile device participating in the chat (i.e. in acurrently communicable state) relative to the own device (hereinafteralso referred to as “relative position display region 115”) is displayedat an upper part, for example, on the display unit 11.

The relative position display region 115, for example, is displayed in abar form extending in the left-right direction of the display unit 11,and in the relative position display region 115, for example, it ispossible to: arrange the user icon corresponding to the own device atthe center in the left-right direction; assign the left side from theuser icon corresponding to the own device as ahead in the travelingdirection and the right side as behind in the traveling direction;arrange a user icon corresponding to a mobile device positioned aheadrelative to the own device at the left side; and arrange a user iconcorresponding to a mobile device positioned behind relative to the owndevice at the right side. By arranging icons with one side of thedisplay region 115 relative to the own device as forward and the otherside as rearward, it is possible to intuitively understand the relativeposition of a mobile device relative to the own device.

It should be noted that, the user icon corresponding to the other mobiledevice can be displayed in the relative position display region 115during connection with the own device, or in the case of receivingcommunication information from the other mobile device, as describedlater. For the user icon corresponding to the own device, it is possibleto display in the relative position display region 115 appropriatelyafter startup.

It should be noted that the arrangement location of the relativeposition display region 115 is not limited to the upper part on thedisplay unit 11, and may be arranged at any position such as a lowerpart on the display unit 11, for example.

In addition, on the receiving side, it is possible to selectively set todisplay either the member icon or unit icon as the user iconcorresponding to the other mobile device in the relative positiondisplay region 115.

It can also be configured so that the unit icon is displayed as adefault setting. It should be noted that the member icon is displayed inthe case of the unit icon not being sent.

For example, although an example of displaying the member icon as theuser icon corresponding to the other mobile device in the relativeposition display region 115 is illustrated in FIG. 4A, etc., it is notlimited thereto. For example, a case of advance setting so as to displaythe unit icon in the relative position display region 115 is exemplifiedin FIGS. 5A to 5I. By setting in this way, it is possible to display theuser icon (for example, a car).

A relative position calculation unit 41 described later, in a case ofreceiving a connection request, connection confirmation response, orcommunication information, received response, etc. from a mobile deviceparticipating in the chat, based on GPS information including thelongitude and latitude included in the connection request, connectionconfirmation response, or communication information, received response,etc. and the GPS information of the own device, etc., GPS information ofthe own device, etc. included in a received response, etc., cancalculate the relative position of this mobile device relative to theown device, for example, the relative distance between this mobiledevice and the own device, forward-rearward position of this mobiledevice relative to the own device, movement direction of this mobiledevice relative to the traveling direction of the own device (forexample, same traffic lane ahead, same traffic lane behind, oppositetraffic lane ahead, opposite traffic lane behind, ahead to the right,ahead to the left, behind to the right, behind to the left, etc.), etc.

Next, how the relative position is displayed will be explained byreferencing FIGS. 5A to 5I. It should be noted that a case of setting soas to configure so that the unit icon is displayed in the relativeposition display region 115 is exemplified. For the case of setting soas to display the member icon in the relative position display region115, the face of a person is displayed in place of a picture of a car.

(Relative Distance Bar)

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, during connection with another mobiledevice or during communication information receipt from the other mobiledevice, it is possible to display the user icon corresponding to thismobile device, and to display the relative position between this mobiledevice and the own device by way of a bar proportional to distance in arelative distance bar display region 1 and relative distance bar displayregion 2 provided in the relative position display region 115. Herein,the relative distance bar display region 1 and the relative distance bardisplay region 2 respectively represent the relative distance from theother mobile device on board a leading car, and the relative distancefrom the other mobile device on board a trailing car. By configuring inthis way, it is possible to display the relative distance between theother mobile device and the own device and the forward-rearwardrelationship intuitively.

(Ahead/Behind Relationship)

Examples of displaying, during connection with another mobile device onboard a leading car or oncoming car, during communication informationreceipt, or the like, the relative distance between this other mobiledevice and the own device and the relative ahead/behind positionalrelationship by way of the relative position display region 115 areshown in FIGS. 5B to 5D.

As shown in FIG. 5B, during connection with the other mobile device onboard the leading car, during communication information receipt, or thelike, in a case of displaying the relative distance from this othermobile device, it is possible to display the relative distance bardisplay region 1 to be slightly larger by dynamically moving the usericon corresponding to the own device from the center in the left-rightdirection of the display unit 11 to the right direction, while notdisplaying or shortening the relative distance bar display region 2.

Upon doing so, for the traveling direction of this other mobile device,in order to show the same movement direction as the own device, an arrowpointing to the left side can be simultaneously displayed. It should benoted that, in the case of the user icon being established as a pictureof a lateral face of a vehicle, etc. from which the traveling directionis understood, for example, the orientation of the user iconcorresponding to this other mobile device can be displayed so as to facethe same direction as the own device.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5C, during connection with another mobiledevice on board an oncoming car, during communication informationreceipt, or the like, in the case of displaying the relative distancefrom this other mobile device, it is possible to display the relativedistance bar display region 1 to be slightly larger by dynamicallymoving the user icon corresponding to the own device from the center inthe left-right direction of the display unit 11 to the right direction,while not displaying or shortening the relative distance bar displayregion 2.

Upon doing so, for the traveling direction of this other mobile device,in order to show as facing the opposite direction as the own direction,an arrow pointing to the right side can be simultaneously displayed. Itshould be noted that, in the case of the user icon being established asa picture of a lateral face of a vehicle, etc. from which the travelingdirection is understood, for example, the orientation of the user iconcorresponding to this other mobile device can be displayed so as to facethe opposite direction as the own device.

Conversely, as shown in FIG. 5D, during connection with another mobiledevice on board a trailing car, during communication informationreceipt, or the like, in the case of displaying the relative distancefrom this other mobile device, it is possible to display the relativedistance bar display region 2 to be slightly larger by dynamicallymoving the user icon corresponding to the own device from the center inthe left-right direction of the display unit 11 to the left direction,while not displaying or shortening the relative distance bar displayregion 1.

Upon doing so, for the traveling direction of this other mobile device,in order to show the same traveling direction as the own direction, anarrow pointing to the left side can be simultaneously displayed. Itshould be noted that, in the case of the user icon being established asa picture of a lateral face of a vehicle, etc. from which the travelingdirection is understood, for example, the orientation of the user iconcorresponding to this other mobile device can be displayed so as to facethe same direction as the own device.

It should be noted that, although not illustrated, during connectionwith another mobile device on board an oncoming car having passed besidethe own device to behind on the opposing lane, during communicationinformation receipt, or the like, in the case of displaying the relativedistance from this other mobile device, it is possible to display therelative distance bar display region 2 to be slightly larger bydynamically moving the user icon corresponding to the own device fromthe center to forwards, while not displaying or shortening the relativedistance bar display region 1.

Upon doing so, for the traveling direction of this other mobile device,in order to show as facing the opposite direction as the own direction,an arrow pointing to the right side can be simultaneously displayed. Itshould be noted that, in the case of the user icon being established asthe vehicle, etc. from which the traveling direction is understood, forexample, the orientation of the user icon corresponding to this othermobile device can be displayed so as to face the opposite direction asthe own device.

It should be noted that it may be displayed to distinguish being in thesame lane or being in the oncoming lane by setting the color of the usericon corresponding to the other mobile device for the case of the othermobile device being in the same lane as the own device, and the color ofthe user icon corresponding to the other mobile device in the case ofthe other mobile device being in the opposing lane to the own device asdifferent colors.

(Intersection Left/Right)

For intersecting roads, etc., examples of displaying, during connectionwith another mobile device on board a forward car on either the left orright, during communication information receipt, or the like, therelative distance between this other mobile device and the own deviceand the relative left/right positional relationship by way of therelative position display region 115 are shown in FIGS. 5E and 5F.

As shown in FIG. 5E, during connection with the other mobile device onboard a front-right car, during communication information receipt, orthe like, in the case of displaying the relative distance from thisother mobile device, it is possible to display the relative distance bardisplay region 1 to be slightly larger by dynamically moving the usericon corresponding to the own device from the center in the left-rightdirection of the display unit 11 to the right direction, while notdisplaying or shortening the relative distance bar display region 2.

Upon doing so, for the traveling direction of this other mobile device,in order to show as positioned to the front-right direction from the owndevice, an arrow pointing to a lower side can be simultaneouslydisplayed. It should be noted that, in the case of the user icon beingestablished as the vehicle, for example, the orientation of the usericon corresponding to this other mobile device can be displayed so as toface to the lower side.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5F, during connection with the other mobiledevice on board a front-left car, during communication informationreceipt, or the like, in the case of displaying the relative distancefrom this other mobile device, it is possible to display the relativedistance bar display region 1 to be slightly larger by dynamicallymoving the user icon corresponding to the own device from the center inthe left-right direction of the display unit 11 to the right direction,while not displaying or shortening the relative distance bar displayregion 2.

Upon doing so, for the traveling direction of this other mobile device,in order to show as positioned to the front-left direction from the owndevice, an arrow pointing to an upper side in the drawing can besimultaneously displayed. It should be noted that, in the case of theuser icon being established as a lateral face of a vehicle, etc. fromwhich the traveling direction is understood, for example, theorientation of the user icon corresponding to this other mobile devicecan be displayed so as to face to the upper side in the drawing.

It should be noted that, although not illustrated, during connectionwith the other mobile device on board a right-rear car or left-rear car,during communication information receipt, or the like, in the case ofdisplaying the relative distance from this other mobile device, it ispossible to display the relative distance bar display region 2 to beslightly larger by dynamically moving the user icon corresponding to theown device from the center in the left-right direction of the displayunit 11 to the left direction, while not displaying or shortening therelative distance bar display region 1.

Upon doing so, for the traveling direction of this other mobile device,in order to show as positioned to the right-rear direction from the owndevice, an arrow pointing to a lower side in the drawing can besimultaneously displayed. In addition, it is possible to display theorientation of the user icon corresponding to this other mobile deviceso as to face the lower side in the drawing. It should be noted that, inthe case of the user icon being established as a picture of a lateralface of a vehicle, etc. from which the traveling direction isunderstood, for example, if positioned at the left and rearwards, theorientations of the arrow and the user icon can be displayed so as toface to the upper side in the drawing.

It should be noted that it may be displayed to distinguish beingpositioned at the front right or being positioned at the front left bysetting the color of the user icon corresponding to this mobile devicefor the case of the other mobile device being positioned to the frontright from the own device, and the color of the user icon correspondingto this mobile device in the case of the other mobile device being tothe front left of the own device as different colors.

It may be displayed to distinguish being positioned at the front rightor being positioned at the front left by setting the color of the usericon corresponding to this mobile device as different colors for thecase of the other device being positioned at the rear right from the owndevice and being positioned at the rear left.

(Enlarged Display During Connection or During Receipt)

During connection with another mobile device, during communicationinformation receipt from the other mobile device, or the like, it ispossible to emphasize the user icon corresponding to this other mobiledevice displayed in the relative position display region 115 for apredetermined time immediately after message receipt described later, byway of enlarged display, etc.

(Overwrite Display)

As mentioned above, during connection with another mobile device, duringcommunication information receipt from the other mobile device, or thelike, the relative position information of this other mobile device isdisplayed in the relative position display region 115. Therefore, duringconnection with a new mobile device, during communication informationreceipt from a different mobile device, or the like, the relativeposition information of this new mobile device or the different mobiledevice is preferentially displayed in place of the relative positioninformation most recently displayed.

It should be noted that, for a mobile device that is in a currentlycommunicable state, it is possible to display the user iconcorresponding to this mobile device in the relative position displayregion 115. For example, it is possible to arrange the user iconcorresponding to the own device in the center in the left-rightdirection of the relative position display region 115, arrange the usericon corresponding to a mobile device positioned ahead relative to theown device at the left side of the relative position display region 115,and arrange the user icon corresponding to a mobile device positionedbehind relative to the own device at the right side of the relativeposition display region 115. In this case, the user icon displayed canbe reduced or enlarged. By configuring in this way, it is possible todisplay a plurality of user icons. It should be noted that, in the caseof the number of displayable user icons being limited, upon the displayof user icons, it is preferable to prioritize the most recentlyconnected mobile device or the mobile device from which communicationinformation was recently received.

(Two-Lane Display)

As a modified example, for example, as shown in FIG. 5G, it is possibleto provide a relative distance bar display region corresponding to eachof the same lane and opposite lane as the own device, in the relativeposition display region 115. By configuring in this way, it is possibleto intuitively display being traveling on the same lane as the owndevice, i.e. same direction, or being traveling on the opposite lane tothe own device, i.e. opposite direction.

In the case of two-lane display, for example, as shown in FIG. 5H, inregards to the way of display of the distance bar in the relativedistance bar display region corresponding to the same lane as the owndevice and the way of display of the user icon corresponding to theother mobile device positioned in the same lane, as well as the way ofdisplay of the distance bar in the relative distance bar display regioncorresponding to the opposite lane to the own device and the way ofdisplay of the user icon corresponding to the other mobile devicepositioned in the opposite lane, they are basically the same as the wayof display in the case of providing the relative distance bar displayregion related to one lane in the aforementioned relative positiondisplay region 115, and thus explanations thereof will be omitted.

(List of Relative Position Information)

The relative position information of the most recently connected mobiledevice or of the mobile device from which communication information wastransmitted most recently is normally displayed in the relative positiondisplay region 115.

In order to display positional information of all of the mobile devices,as shown in FIG. 5I or FIG. 4D, it is possible to configure so that thepositional information of all of the mobile devices participating in thechat (i.e. in a currently communicable state) display as a list, bytapping a region within the relative position display region 115, forexample.

By configuring in this way, the relative position information of each ofthe plurality of mobile devices is displayed with the relative positiondisplay region 115 expanded longitudinally. It should be noted that,when the relative position information of all of the mobile devices donot fit longitudinally, it can be configured so that positionalinformation of hidden mobile devices is displayed by scrolling by way ofswiping vertically, for example.

It should be noted that, in the case of the positional information ofall of the mobile devices being displayed as a list, it is possible toreturn to a simple information display in which the relative positioninformation of the most recently connected mobile device or the mobiledevice from which communication information was transmitted mostrecently is displayed, by way of tapping a region within the screen onwhich the positional information of all of the mobile devices is beingdisplayed as a list on the display unit 11.

(Arrangement of Second Display Region Based on Relative Distance of UserIcons)

In the case of displaying user icons corresponding to currentlycommunicable other mobile devices in the second display region 112(e.g., circular belt-shaped display region) provided at the periphery ofthe first display region 111 on the display unit 11, for example, it maybe configured so as to display by arranging the own device at a left endat the center in the vertical direction of the second display region112, and arrange a mobile device positioned ahead of the own device atthe upper half of the second display region 112, and a mobile devicepositioned behind the own device at a lower half of the second displayregion 112.

In this case, the relative distance from a mobile device positioneddirectly ahead of the own device and a relative distance from a mobiledevice positioned immediately behind the own device may be metereddisplayed.

Based on the relative distance from the own device, by arranging themobile device having a short relative distance from the own device at alocation near the own device, it becomes possible to intuitivelyunderstand the positional relationship of currently communicable othermobile devices with the own device.

In this case, accompanying movement of the own device and other mobiledevices, the user icons corresponding to the other mobile devices aredynamically rearranged.

One example of arrangement display based on the relative distance ofuser icons in the second display region 112 is shown in FIG. 5J. FIG. 5Jshows an aspect of users allocated numbers of No. 1 to No. 6 advancingin a forward/rearward line at roughly 50 m intervals with the user ofNo. 1 (own device) at the lead.

Upon the No. 4 user saying “want to take a break” by depressing orclicking a (rest) button of the command bar, in order to display thatthe relative distance from the No. 1 user (own device) has approached byabout 30 m compared to during connection, the user icon of the No. 4user is dynamically rearranged so as to approach the user icon of theNo. 1 user (own device).

At this time, it is possible to color the line from the speaker (No. 4user) to the own device user (No. 1 user).

Next, upon the own device user (No. 1 user) saying “roger” by depressingor clicking the (OK) button of the command bar, in the case of therelative distance from the No. 1 user (own device) further approaching,the user icon of the No. 4 user is dynamically rearranged so as toapproach the user icon of the No. 1 user (own device).

In the above way, by displaying the relative positional relationship ofthe other mobile device participating in the chat relative to the owndevice in the relative position display region 15, it is possible tounderstand the relative position of the other mobile device, and thus itis possible to aid in message understanding and support drivinginformation.

(Portrait Display and Landscape Display)

Although various display regions of the display unit 11 have beenexplained above by exemplifying portrait display, it is not limited toportrait display. It may be made landscape instead of portrait. Inaddition, according to an acceleration sensor, for example, it may beconfigured so as to perform portrait/landscape automatic changing toswitch between length/width display automatically by tilting theelectronic device.

(Touch Panel)

A touch panel is laminated on the display of the display unit 11, andcan accept the operations of the user. Among the operations accepted bythe touch panel in the present embodiment, selection operations toselect any position on the display unit 11 (so-called tap) and slideoperations to move a finger after selecting any position on the displayunit 11 (so-called swipe and flick) are included. In addition, the touchpanel is configured by a multi-touch panel capable of sensing multiplecontact points simultaneously. An operation accepted via the touch panelis sent to and processed in the control unit 40.

A speaker 12 performs audio output to the user, and a microphone 13collects sounds, etc. produced by the user.

The operation unit 14 can be configured by operation buttons, a touchpanel-type input device, or the like, whereby various selections andinstructions are inputted by the user. It should be noted that the touchpanel provided on the display screen of the display unit 11 alsofunctions as the operation unit 14.

In addition, by way of voice recognition technology, it is also possibleto input various selections and instructions by the user inputted assound via the microphone 13.

Storage Unit 32

A storage unit 32 is configured to include ROM, RAM, etc., a controlprogram, etc. for controlling the electronic device 2 is stored therein,as well as storing readable data set by the user via the operation unit14, and providing a work area to the control unit 40.

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 32 stores a user profile (userinformation list) 321, a stylized (and fix) phrase message list 322,connection table 323, sent information history part 324, and a receivedinformation history part 325.

The user profile (user information list) 321 stores a plurality ofrecords configured from user information (identification information ofthe user and attribute information of the user), etc.

It should be noted that the user profile (user information list) 321 canbe setting registered using a setting screen displayed by depressing apreset button 1142.

The stylized (and fixed) phrase message list 322 stores a plurality ofrecords consisting of the identification ID of the stylized (and fixed)phrase messages, stylized (and fixed) phrase messages, theidentification ID of a message icon associated with this stylized (andfixed) phrase message, message icons, etc.

The stylized (and fixed) phrase message list 322 may be installed inadvance. In addition, it may be downloaded as appropriate from apredetermined server, cloud, etc. By configuring in this way, a stylized(and fixed) phrase message and the message icon corresponding to thestylized (and fixed) phrase message are commonly stored in all of theelectronic devices 2.

The connection table 323 stores a plurality of records configured fromcommunication address information (for example, IP address, MAC address,etc.) of the own device and other mobile devices that are communicablewith the own device, which is generated and updated by the connectionprocessing unit 42 described later, transmitted user information(identification information of the user and/or attribute information ofthe user) corresponding to this mobile device (user), time information,positional information, etc.

The sent information history part 324 stores a history of communicationinformation sent by the own vehicle 1.

The received information history part 325 stores a history ofcommunication information received from other mobile devices, etc.

By configuring in this way, the user can reference the receivedcommunication information according to the received date and time order,sending source order, etc. In addition, the user can text search thedata included in communication information.

Also for sent communication information, it is similarly possible toreference according to the sent date and time order, sending sourceorder, etc., and text search the data included in the communicationinformation.

By configuring in this way, a search inquiry of an interchange ofcommunication information among peers becomes possible.

By providing a map information database in the storage unit 32, it ispossible to store two-dimensional map information, three-dimensional mapinformation, and map information such as road shape data, facility dataand shop data. In addition, it may be downloaded as appropriate from apredetermined server, cloud or the like.

Control Unit

The control unit 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc., andperforms overall control of the electronic device 2. As shown in FIG. 1,the control unit 40 includes the relative position calculation unit 41,connection processing unit 42, display control unit 43, informationsetting unit 44 and message processing unit 45. In addition, the displaycontrol unit 43 includes a first display mode control section 431.

Relative Position Calculation Unit

In the case of having received a connection request from the othermobile device via the information receiving unit 21, a connectionconfirmation response, communication information or the like, therelative position calculation unit 41 calculates the current position ofthe other mobile device based on GPS information included in theconnection request, connection confirmation response, communicationinformation or the like, and map information of a road currentlytraveled. In addition, the relative position calculation unit 41calculates the distance between the other mobile device and the owndevice, relative position direction of the other mobile device from theown device (for example, same traffic lane ahead, same traffic lanebehind, opposite traffic lane ahead, opposite traffic lane behind, aheadto the right, ahead to the left, behind to the right, behind to theleft, etc.), etc.

Connection Processing Unit

The connection processing unit 42 stores communication addressinformation such as of other mobile device that are communicable withthe own device (for example, IP address, MAC address, etc.), userinformation (identification information of user and/or attributeinformation of user) corresponding to this mobile device (user), timeinformation, positional information, etc. in a connection table 323.

More specifically, in the case of making a connection request or messagesending to the other mobile device according to the instruction of theuser, the connection processing unit 42 sends a connection requestincluding communication address information (for example, IP address,MAC address, etc.) for identifying the own device, user information(identification information of user and/or attribute information ofuser) corresponding to the own device (user), time information,positional information, etc. via the information sending unit 22. Then,based on a connection confirmation from the other mobile device, etc.replying to this connection request, a record including thecommunication address information of the other mobile device, etc., userinformation (identification information of user and/or attributeinformation of user) corresponding to this mobile device, etc., timeinformation, positional information, etc. is created in the connectiontable 323.

When receiving a connection request, message, received response, etc.from the other mobile device, etc., the connection processing unit 42stores a record including the communication address information of theother mobile device, etc., user information (identification informationof user and/or attribute information of user) corresponding to thismobile device, time information, positional information, etc. in theconnection table 323.

Then, the connection processing unit 42 sends, to the other mobiledevice, etc. having received the connection request, etc., a connectionconfirmation response, etc. including the address information of the owndevice, user information (identification information of user and/orattribute information of user) corresponding to the own device, timeinformation, positional information, etc. via the information sendingunit 22.

The connection processing unit 42 updates connection information withother mobile devices, etc. created in the connection table 323 asappropriate, based on the connection confirmation, etc. with the othermobile devices, etc. By configuring in this way, it is possible tomaintain the connection information related to currently communicableother mobile devices, etc. (communication address information, userinformation (identification information of user and/or attributeinformation of user) corresponding to this mobile device, timeinformation, positional information, etc.) in the latest state.

Display Control Unit

The display control unit 43 includes the first display mode controlsection 431.

(Full-Screen Display)

The first display mode control section 431 displays a user iconcorresponding to a currently communicable other mobile device in thesecond display region 112 on the display unit 11 as shown in FIG. 4A,for example, based on the connection information with the other mobiledevice, etc. stored in the connection table 323 created by theconnection processing unit 42.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4A, in order to distinguish between theuser icon corresponding to the own device and the user iconcorresponding to the other mobile device, etc., the first display modecontrol section 431 may configure so as to display the user iconcorresponding to the own device at the left end, for example, of thesecond display region 112.

The first display mode control section 431, as mentioned previously,displays a plurality of user icons corresponding to mobile devicesparticipating in the chat (i.e. in a currently communicable state) byarranging on the second display region 112 with predetermined intervals.

(Display of New Chat Participants)

As shown in FIG. 4E, in response to a communication connection with anew mobile device being established via the wireless communication unit20 by way of the communication processing unit 42, the first displaymode control section 431 dynamically rearranges all of the user iconscorresponding to mobile devices participating in the chat, withpredetermined intervals on the second display region 112 to include theuser icon corresponding to the new mobile device. Herein, equalintervals may be established as the predetermined interval.

It should be noted that, as a modified example of rearrangement, forexample, it may be configured so that the user icons corresponding tomobile devices already being displayed in the second display region 112remain as is, and only the user icon corresponding to a new mobiledevice is inserted at any location on the second display region 112.

In addition, the user icon corresponding to the new mobile device may beadditionally arranged in the connection order.

In addition, as a separate modified example, the first display modecontrol section 431 may be configured to prepare user icon arrangementplaces by dividing the second display region 112 so as to be able toarrange a predetermined number of user icons in advance. By configuringin this way, in response to a communication connection with a new mobiledevice being established via the wireless communication unit 20, it isconfigured so that the first display mode control section 431additionally arranges the user icon corresponding to the new mobiledevice in an open user icon arrangement place on the second displayregion 112.

(Display of Relative Position)

In response to a communication connection with a new mobile device beingestablished, the first display mode control section 431 calculatesrelative position information of the new mobile device relative to theown device produced by calculating by the relative position calculationunit 41, and displays the relative position information of the newmobile device having made a communication connection in the relativeposition display region 115.

It should be noted that it may be configured so as to provide afiltering function that can preset the allowance of receipt from anothermobile device, and the allowance of message display form the othermobile device, according to the information setting unit 44 describedlater. For this filtering function, it may be configured to be performedas member units or unit units.

In the above-mentioned example, assuming there is a setting of the newmobile device (user) being receivable, or message displayable, it isdisplayed in the second display region 112.

By providing a filtering function, closed message exchange that islimited to among peers is possible.

(Exit of Chat Participant)

In response to a communication connection with a mobile deviceparticipating in the chat being disconnected via the wirelesscommunication unit 20 by way of the connection processing unit 42, thefirst display mode control section 431 makes the user icon correspondingto this mobile device to be non-display, as well as dynamicallyrearranging with predetermined intervals on the second display region112 the user icons corresponding to all of the remaining mobile devicesparticipating in the chat, by removing the user icon corresponding tothis mobile device. Herein, equal intervals may be established as thepredetermined interval.

It should be noted that, as a modified example of rearrangement, forexample, it may be configured so that the user icons corresponding tomobile devices already being displayed in the second display region 112remain as is, and only the user icon corresponding to this mobile deviceis removed from the second display region 112.

In addition, as a separate modified example, it may be configured sothat the first display mode control section 431, in the case ofpreparing user icon arrangement places by dividing the second displayregion 112 so as to be able to arrange a predetermined number of usericons in advance, the first display mode control section 431 eliminatesthe user icon corresponding to this mobile device on the second displayregion 112 from the user icon arrangement place, in response to thecommunication connection with this mobile device being disconnected viathe wireless communication unit 20. In addition, it may be configured soas to rearrange the user icons corresponding to all of the remainingmobile devices in the connection order.

(Other)

As mentioned previously, as a modified example of full-screen display,the user icons corresponding to the other mobile devices participatingin the chat may be displayed within the first display region 111surrounded by a circle provided at the center of the display unit 11,and may display message icons corresponding to the messages in thesecond display region 112.

(Association Between Message Icon and User Icon)

The first display mode control section 431, as shown in FIG. 4A, forexample, displays in the first display region 111 the message iconcorresponding to a message received from the other mobile device (L)participating in the chat via the information receiving unit 21, to beassociated with a user icon (L) corresponding to this mobile devicedisplayed in the second display region 112, for example, by way of aballoon.

More specifically, it is processed as follows.

First, the connection processing unit 42 extracts, from thecommunication records received via the information receiving unit 21from the communicable other mobile device (L) that is participating inthe chat, the user information (identification information of userand/or attribute information of user) corresponding to the mobile device(L) that is the sending source, the message sent from the sendingsource, time information, GPS information of the mobile device that isthe sending source, etc. It should be noted that the connectionprocessing unit 42 can store received information in the receivedinformation history part 325, based on the communication recordsreceived via the information receiving unit 21 from the other mobiledevice (L) participating in the chat.

Next, the first display mode control section 431 displays the messageicon corresponding to a message received from the other mobile device(L) as shown in FIG. 4A, for example, on the first display region 111 ofthe display unit 11 to be associated with the user icon (L) displayed inthe second display region 112, based on the data extracted by theconnection processing unit 42, stylized (and fixed) message list 322,etc.

At this time, the first display mode control section 431, as shown inFIG. 4F, can emphasize that a new message has been received bydisplaying the corresponding message icon to be larger for apredetermined time immediately after receipt, in order to emphasize thata message arrived.

Subsequently, the first display mode control section 431 returns thismessage icon to the normal size with a predetermined time elapse.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4G, in the case of having received a textmessage, the first display mode control section 431 can establishdisplay of text or reading out of text, by displaying the correspondingmessage icon (“framed display”) to be large. After completion of displayof text or reading out of text, this message icon is returned to thenormal size.

Similarly, in the case of receiving a voice message, the first displaymode control section 431 can display the corresponding message icon(“framed display”) to be large, and playback the audio. When the audioplayback ends, this message icon is returned to the normal size.

Similarly, in a case of receiving an image message, the first displaymode control section 431 can display the corresponding message icon(“framed display”) to be large, and perform image display. It should benoted that, after a predetermined time elapse, this message icon isreturned to the normal size.

It should be noted that, in the case of the text message, voice message,and image message respectively being tapped by the user, the textmessage, voice message and image message are respectively displayed tobe large, the display of text of text or reading out of text, playbackof audio, and image display are performed, and after processingcompletion, can be returned to the normal size.

(Display of Relative Position)

As mentioned previously, in the case of receiving a message from theother mobile device (L), the first display mode control section 431calculates relative position information of the other mobile device (L)relative to the own device produced by calculating by the relativeposition calculation unit 41, and displays the relative positioninformation of the other mobile device (L) that is the sending source ofthe received message, in the relative position display region 115.

It should be noted that, in the case of the allowance of receipt fromanother mobile device, and the allowance of message display from theother mobile device being provided by the information setting unit 44described later, for example, in a case of a certain mobile device(user) not being receivable, or not being message displayable, messagesfrom this mobile device will not be received, or the messages will notbe displayed in the second display region 112.

By configuring in this way, upon making a conversation of chat format byway of character data, an atmosphere of persons not speaking also beingpresent inside the loop of the story is made, whereby it is possible tobring about an atmosphere where the conversation is being enjoyed byeveryone and perform the exchange of messages in an enjoyable manner.

In addition, in the case of doing a certain activity together in agroup, it is possible to create an atmosphere in which a feeling ofsolidarity of the group, group feeling, and sense of unity as acommunity can be enjoyed. In addition, since the relative positioninformation of the sender can be understood together with the message,imagining the relationship with sender and situation of the sender isfacilitated for the receiver, and it is possible to aid in understandingof messages.

(Overwrite Display)

The first display mode control section 431, upon displaying a messageicon corresponding to a received message in the first display region 111to be associated with a user icon (for example, L), in the case of themessage icon corresponding to a previously received message beingdisplayed, it is possible to overwrite the message icon corresponding tothe received message over the message icon corresponding to thepreviously received message.

In addition, in the display of a message icon, the first display modecontrol section 431 can highlight display based on attributes related tothe sender, information classification, information urgency, informationimportance, etc.

Information Setting Unit

For example, by using a template created in advance, or by the userdirectly creating, the information setting unit 44 can appropriately setand register the identification information (“member information”)identifying the sender (user) using this electronic device, or attributeinformation (“unit information”) possessed by this sender, own vehiclemodel information, greeting message, etc. according to the time, place,situation, etc. In addition, the user can set and register a member iconexpressing the identification information of the sender (user) as acharacter, and/or a unit icon expressing attribute information of thissender (user) as a character.

For example, in the case of setting and registering the face of a personin the member icon, the face of a person registered as the member iconis displayed on the display unit 11. In addition, in the case ofregistering the picture of a car as the unit icon, the car registered asthe unit icon is displayed on the display unit 11.

The information setting unit 44 can set in advance to display themessage icon and user icon in either the first display region 111 orsecond display region 112, respectively, according to the instruction ofthe user.

The information setting unit 44 can set in advance to display either ofthe member icon or unit icon as the user icon corresponding to themobile device participating in the chat, according to the instruction ofthe user. Similarly, the information setting unit 44 can set in advanceto display either of the member icon or the unit icon as the user iconcorresponding to the mobile device participating in the chat in therelative position display region 115, according to the instruction ofthe user.

In addition, in the case of a connection request or message sending tothe other mobile device, the information setting unit 44 can set inadvance whether to send only either of the member icon or unit icon asthe user icon corresponding to the own device, or to send both icons,according to the instruction of the user.

The information setting unit 44 can set in advance the maximum number ofuser icons displayed in the first display region 111 or second displayregion 112, according to the instruction of the user.

The information setting unit 44 can provide a filtering functiondirected at the other mobile devices that sets in advance the allowanceof message receipt from another mobile device, and allowance of messagedisplay from the other mobile device, according to the instruction ofthe user. For this filtering function, it may be configured to beperformed as member units or unit units.

By providing a filtering function, message exchange that is limited toamong peers is possible.

(Traffic Lane Setting for Relative Position Display)

The information setting unit 44 can set so as to make one traffic lanedisplay or two traffic lane display in the relative position displayregion 115.

(Arrangement Setting Based on Relative Distance of User Icons in SecondDisplay Region)

The information setting unit 44, in a case of displaying a message iconcorresponding to a currently communicable other mobile device in thesecond display region 112 (e.g., circular belt-shaped display region),for example, can set so as to display by arranging the own device at aleft end of the center of the second display region 112, and arrange themobile device positioned ahead of the own device at the upper half ofthe second display region 112, and a mobile device positioned behind theown device at a lower half of the second display region 112,respectively, at places near the own device in proportion to therelative distance from the own device.

It should be noted that the setting information set in advance by theinformation setting unit 44 can be changed according to the instructionof the user, during running of the first display mode control section431. By configuring in this way, it is possible to change the displaymethod flexibly.

Message Processing Unit

The message processing unit 45, in the case of sending communicationinformation according to an instruction of the user to the other mobiledevice participating in the chat, acquires the current position of theown vehicle 1 via the GPS processing unit 31, and acquires the currenttime from a clocking unit (not illustrated), generates communicationinformation based on the connection table 323, and sends thecommunication information to the other information transmitting sourcevia an information sending unit 22.

(Sending of Message)

In response to one message icon having been selected from a list of aplurality of message icons displayed in the aforementioned third displayregion 113 according to a tap operation by the user, for example, themessage processing unit 45 sends a stylized (and fixed) phrase messagecorresponding to the message icon selected to a mobile device being usedby a user corresponding to the user icon displayed in the second displayregion 112 of the display unit 11 (hereinafter also referred to as“mobile device corresponding to user icon”) based on the connectiontable 323, via the wireless communication unit 20.

In addition, in response to a text button 1145 on the button widget 114being depressed or tapped by the user, the message processing unit 45can collect the text to generate a text message, and send to the mobiledevice corresponding to the user icon displayed in the second displayregion 112 via the wireless communication unit 20.

In response to a voicemail button 1143 on the button widget 114 beingdepressed or tapped by the user, the message processing unit 45 cancreate a voicemail, and send to the mobile device corresponding to theuser icon displayed in the second display region 112, via the wirelesscommunication unit 20.

In response to the camera image button 1144 on the button widget 114being depressed or tapped by the user, the message processing unit 45can generate an image message, and send to the mobile devicecorresponding to the user icon displayed in the second display region112, via the wireless communication unit 20.

(Setting of Destination)

The message processing unit 45 sets the delivery address according tothe tap operation of the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 4H, in thecase of the center of the first display region being tapped according toa tap operation of the user, the delivery address is set to the entiregroup displayed in the second display region 112. In addition, in thecase of a specific user icon being depressed or tapper from among theuser icons arranged in the second display region, according to a tapoperation of the user, the delivery address is set to the mobile devicecorresponding to this specific user icon.

It should be noted that, as the default setting, in the case of onemessage icon having been selected from the list of a plurality ofmessage icons displayed in the aforementioned third display region 113,according to a tap operation of the user, for example, it may beconfigured so as to send to the entire group.

(Setting and Sending of Message)

In a case of one message icon having been selected from the list of aplurality of message icons displayed in the aforementioned third displayregion 113, according to a tap operation of the user, for example, themessage processing unit 45 sets the delivery address based on theconnection table 323, sets the communication address of the own devicein the sending source address, creates a communication record settingthe user information of the user using the own device, identification IDof the message icon corresponding to the selected stylized (and fixed)phrase message, time information, GPS information of the own device,etc. in the sent data unit, and then sends to the mobile devicecorresponding to the user icon displayed in the second display region ofthe display unit 11, via the information sending unit 22.

As shown in FIG. 4H, in the case of selecting a message icon, it may beconfigured so as to enable intuitive understanding of sending of amessage, by executing an animation like that of a message icon moving tothe destination (i.e. in the case of the destination being the entiregroup, to the center of the first display region, and in the case of thedestination being a specific mobile device, to the corresponding usericon). Then, the first display mode control section 431 can display themessage icon corresponding to the above-mentioned stylized (and fixed)phrase message sent by the own device by way of a balloon, for example,to be associated with the user icon corresponding to the own devicedisplayed in the second display region. It should be noted that,immediately after message sending, the sent message can be displayed tobe large in order to emphasize as having been sent, and then after theelapse of a predetermined time, this sent message can be returned tonormal size.

The message processing unit 45 can store this sent information in thesent information history part 324 as log information.

As shown in FIG. 4H, after message sending, the first display modecontrol section 431 can display the icon of a closed envelop(hereinafter referred to as “sent icon”), for example, so that the stateis understood of being during sending to the user icon of the deliveryaddress, for example, until receiving a received response from themobile device that is the delivery address. In the case of the messageprocessing unit 45 receiving a received response, the first display modecontrol section 431 sets this sent icon from the corresponding mobiledevice to non-display. By configuring in this way, the own deviceenables intuitive understanding of whether the delivery address hasreceived the sent message.

The first display mode control section 431 returns this message icon tothe normal size in a predetermined time elapse.

As shown in FIG. 4I, in the case of the voicemail button 1143 on theaforementioned button widget 114 being depressed or tapped, for example,by the user, the message processing unit 45 allows the user to inputaudio, sets the delivery address based on the connection table 323, setsthe communication address of the own device in the source address,creates a communication record setting the user information of the userusing the own device, voicemail, time information, GPS information ofthe own device, etc. in the sent data unit, and then sends to the mobiledevice corresponding to the user icon displayed in the second displayregion of the display unit 11, via the information sending unit 22.

Upon doing so, the message processing unit 45 can store this sentinformation in the sent information history part 324 as log information.

In addition, in the case of the text button 1145 or camera image button1144 on the button widget 114 being depressed by the user, the messageprocessing unit 45 can perform similar processing to the processing onand after the voicemail button 1143 is depressed or tapped.

The embodiments of these functional units of the electronic device 2,for example, the wireless communication unit 20, GPS processing unit 31,control unit 40, relative position calculation unit 41, connectionprocessing unit 42, display control unit 43, first display mode controlsection 431, information setting unit 44, message processing unit 45,etc., can be implemented as computer programs for executing by aprogrammable processor or programmable computer.

In addition, it can also be implemented in the form of a special purposelogical circuit, for example, FPGA or ASIC, firmware, or digitalelectronic circuit.

In addition, it may be realized by recording a program for realizing thefunctions of the electronic device 2 in a computer-readable recordingmedium, reading the program recorded on this recording medium into acomputer and executing.

The “computer” referred to herein includes the OS and hardware such asperipheral devices. In addition, the “computer-readable recordingmedium” includes portable media such as a floppy disk, magneto opticaldisk, ROM and CD-ROM; storage devices such as a hard disk installed in acomputer system; and the like.

In addition, the method steps of one embodiment of the present inventioncan be implemented by the electronic device 2 for implementing thefunctions of one embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, the method steps of one embodiment of the present inventioncan be implemented by one or a plurality of programmable processors orcomputers that execute a computer program for implementing the functionsof one embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, the method steps can also be implemented by a specialpurpose logical circuit, for example, FPGA or ASIC, firmware, or digitalelectronic circuit.

As stated above, upon making a conversation of chat format by using thecommunication information, an atmosphere of persons not speaking alsobeing present inside the loop of the story is made, whereby it ispossible to bring about an atmosphere where the conversation is beingenjoyed by everyone and perform the exchange of messages in an enjoyablemanner. In addition, in the case of doing a certain activity together ina group, it is possible to create an atmosphere in which a feeling ofsolidarity of the group, group feeling, and sense of unity as acommunity can be enjoyed.

(Effects According to First Embodiment)

The following such effects are exerted by the program, method andelectronic device 2 for performing message exchange of theabove-mentioned embodiment explained in the foregoing.

According to the program, method and electronic device 2 for performingstylized (and fixed) phrase message exchange of the above-mentionedembodiment, the first display region 111 at the center, and the seconddisplay region 112 at the periphery thereof are provided to the displayunit 11 of the electronic device 2, the user icon corresponding to theuser (mobile device) being displayed in the second display region 112,and the message icon corresponding to the message being displayed in thefirst display region 111 at the center to be associated with the usericon (for example, by way of a balloon), for example.

It is thereby possible to create a “gathering” atmosphere to perform theexchange of messages enjoyed by everyone, by displaying the messageicons corresponding to messages to be collected at the center. Inaddition, by displaying the user icons corresponding to users (mobiledevice) to be scattered at the periphery, it is possible to assumeintervals between icons, whereby it can be made easier to see.

Furthermore, in the case of a plurality of user icons corresponding tomobile devices being present, the plurality of user icons are arrangedwith predetermined intervals in either of the display regions of thefirst display region 111 or second display region 112.

Upon making a conversation of chat format by way of character data, itis thereby possible to bring about an atmosphere where the conversationis being enjoyed by everyone and perform the exchange of messages in anenjoyable manner. In addition, in the case of doing a certain activitytogether in a group, it is possible to create an atmosphere in which afeeling of solidarity of the group, group feeling, and sense of unity asa community can be enjoyed.

In addition, information can be effectively presented on the displayunit 11 of limited area. Furthermore, since the arrangement positionsare allocated based on the number of communication connections, thescreen is organized, and thus information tends to be intuitivelyunderstood. In addition, it is possible to render an enjoyableatmosphere.

Furthermore, in response to a communication connection with a new mobiledevice being established via the wireless communication unit 20, theuser icon corresponding to the new member is dynamically introduced intothe loop of user icons of chat members up to that time.

Since the positions thereby change every time the number ofcommunication connections increases, the change on the screen is great,and thus the matter of the connections increasing is easily understoodintuitively. By configuring in this way, even in the case of a newmember participating in a chat, an atmosphere in which the new member isalso naturally added into the loop of the story is made, whereby it ispossible to bring about an atmosphere where the conversation is beingenjoyed by everyone and perform the exchange of messages in an enjoyablemanner.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explainedwhile referencing the drawings.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the display controlunit 43 performs display control by way of the first display modecontrol section 431 (referred to also as “first display” or “full-screendisplay”); however, in the second embodiment, in addition to the displaycontrol (full-screen display) by way of the first display mode controlsection 431, the display control unit 43 can perform display control todisplay the own device position on a map (referred to also as “seconddisplay” or “map display”) by way of a second display mode controlsection 432. Furthermore, it is possible to switch between first display(full-screen display) and second display (map display) according to theinstruction of the user.

The configuration related to display control according to the firstdisplay mode control section 431 is the same as the first embodiment,and thus explanation thereof will be omitted. Herein, the second displayand display switching will be explained.

It should be noted that the system configuration of the electronicdevice 2 in the second embodiment is basically the same as the systemconfiguration of the electronic device 2 in the first embodiment.Herein, portions that differ from the system configuration of theelectronic device 2 in the first embodiment will be explained. The samereference numbers are assigned to similar configurations to the firstembodiment, and explanations thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 40 of the second embodimentincludes the relative position calculation unit 41, connectionprocessing unit 42, display control unit 43, information setting unit 44and message processing unit 45. The display control unit 43 isconfigured to include the first display mode control section 431, seconddisplay mode control section 432 and display mode switching unit 433.

(Second Display)

The map display by the second display mode control section 432 will beexplained. It should be noted that the same reference numbers areassigned to similar configurations to the display of the first display(full-screen display), and explanations thereof will be omitted.

The second display screen by the second display mode control section 432(map display screen prioritizing the own device position display on themap) is shown in FIG. 7A.

In FIG. 7B exemplified below, the member icon is displayed as the usericon; however, it is not limited to only the member icon.

An example of a case of displaying the unit icon as the user icon isshown in FIG. 7C.

In this way, for a user belonging to a unit group, it is possible todisplay not the individual member icon as a user icon, but rather theunit icon.

Similarly to the case of full-screen display, it is possible to set inadvance on the receiving side whether to display either of the membericon or unit icon as the user icon of the sender on the map displayscreen, by way of the information setting unit 44 according to thedesignation of the user.

In addition, upon making to slide-in/slide-out by way of a swipemovement on the second button widget 114B described later, it ispossible to make so as to be selected and set according to the number oftimes continuously repeating slide-in/slide-out. For example, it may beconfigured so as to establish member icon display with a one timeoperation, and establish unit icon display by consecutively repeatingtwo times.

Display of Currently Traveled Road Map

As shown in FIG. 7A, similarly to the first embodiment, the currentlycommunicable mobile device is identified by the user icon represented asa character, and the user icon (L), user icon (M), etc. corresponding tocurrently communicable mobile devices are displayed together with theuser icon (K) corresponding to the own device on the currently traveledroad map displayed on the display unit 11. The user icon (K)corresponding to the own device is displayed on the currently traveledroad map based on the current position of the own device calculated bythe GPS processing unit 31. In addition, the user icon (L), user icon(M), etc. corresponding to other mobile devices are displayed on thecurrently traveled road map, based on the current positions of the othermobile devices calculated based on the GPS information including thelongitude and latitude of the other mobile devices received via theinformation receiving unit 21 of the wireless communication unit 20.

Herein, the user icon corresponding to the own device, in the case ofnorth-up display for example, can be displayed so as to be positioned atsubstantially the center on the road map displayed on the display unit11. In addition, in the case of head-up, it is possible to display atthe lower side on the road map displayed on the display unit 11.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7A, the message icon corresponding to themessage (for example, “roger”) received from the other mobile device (L)is displayed above this user icon (L), for example, to be associatedwith the user icon (L) corresponding to the other mobile device (L), onthe currently traveled road map displayed on the display unit 11.

Furthermore, on the currently traveled road map displayed on the displayunit 11, it is possible to display the message icon corresponding to themost recent message sent by the own device (for example, “conveniencestore”) above this user icon, for example, to be associated with theuser icon corresponding to the own device displayed on the road map.

(Second Button Widget 114B)

As shown in FIG. 7B, the second display mode control section 432 candisplay a widget (hereinafter also referred to as “second button widget114B”) that includes a variety of operation buttons on the left side,for example, on the display unit 11 in the second display.

As shown in FIG. 7D, the second button widget 114B, similarly to thebutton widget 114 in the first display, can be made toslide-in/slide-out on the display unit 11 by way of a swipe operation oftwo fingers, for example.

The second button widget 114B can include a display switching button1141B, message icon selection button (referred to also as “first iconselection button”) 1142B, voicemail button 1143, camera image button1144, etc. In addition, as described later, the user icons correspondingto currently communicable mobile devices are displayed in the displayregion (hereinafter also referred to as “user icon display region B”) atthe center of the second button widget 114B.

It should be noted that the voicemail button 1143 and camera imagebutton 1144 are the same as the voicemail button 1143 and camera imagebutton 1144 of the button widget 114 in the first display, respectively,and thus explanations thereof will be omitted.

(User Icon Display Region B)

As shown in FIG. 7B, the user icons corresponding to a currentlycommunicable mobile devices are displayed in the user icon displayregion B of the second button widget 114B on the display unit 11.

It may be configured so that the user icons displayed in the user icondisplay region B include the user icon corresponding to the own device.In this case, in order to distinguish between the user iconcorresponding to the own device and the user icons corresponding to theother mobile devices, for example, it may be configured so that theregion displaying the user icon (K) corresponding to the own device willbe above the region displaying the user icon (L), user icon (M), etc.corresponding to the other mobile devices. In addition, it may beconfigured to display in connection order including the own device (K).

(Display of New Chat Participant)

As shown in FIG. 7F, in the second display, in response to acommunication connection with a new mobile device being established viathe wireless communication unit 20 by way of the connection processingunit 42, the second display mode control section 432 dynamicallyadditionally arranges the user icon corresponding to the new mobiledevice on the user icon display region B of the second button widget114B. At the same time, the user icon corresponding to the new mobiledevice is additionally arranged on the currently traveled road map.

(Exit of Chat Participant)

As shown in FIG. 7G, in the second display, in response to acommunication connection with a mobile device participating in the chatbeing disconnected via the wireless communication unit 20 by way of theconnection processing unit 42, the second display mode control section432 dynamically rearranges the user icons corresponding to all of theremaining mobile devices participating in the chat on the user icondisplay region B of the second button widget 114B, by removing the usericon corresponding to this mobile device. At the same time, the usericon corresponding to this mobile device that had been displayed on theroad map is set to non-display.

It should be noted that, in the example illustrated in FIG. 7G, it isdisplaying in connection order including the own device (K) on the usericon display region B.

By configuring in this way, the user can easily understand intuitivelythe users newly participating in the chat or user exiting from the chat.

(Message Receipt)

In the second display, the second display mode control section 432 candisplay, as shown in FIG. 7H, the corresponding message icon to belarger for a predetermined time immediately after receipt, in order toemphasize that a message arrived. Subsequently, this message icon isreturned to normal size after a predetermined time elapse.

Also in the second display, in the case of receiving a text message(framed display), similarly to the case of first display (full-screendisplay), the second display mode control section 432 can make thedisplay of text or read-out of text by displaying the correspondingmessage icon (framed display) to be large. After the completion of thedisplay of text or read-out of text, this message icon (framed display)is returned to normal size.

Also in the case of receiving a voice message or image message, thesecond display mode control section 432 performs enlarged displaysimilarly to the case of the first display (full-screen display).

(Overwrite Display)

In the second display, upon displaying on a currently traveled road mapof the display unit 11 a message icon corresponding to a messagereceived to be associated with a user icon (for example, L) displayed inthe user icon display region B, in the case of the message iconcorresponding to a previously received message being displayed, thesecond display mode control section 432 can overwrite the message iconcorresponding to the received message on the message icon correspondingto the previously received message.

It should be noted that a message icon corresponding to a message sentby the own device can be similarly overwritten.

By configuring in this way, a user can easily understand the positionalrelationship intuitively by the displaying of stylized (and fixed)phrase messages received from the other mobile devices according to theassociation between the user icons and message icons displayed on theroad map.

(Message Sending)

Next, message sending processing of the second display mode will beexplained while referencing FIG. 7I. It should be noted that the samereference numbers are assigned to similar configurations to the messagesending processing of the first display mode, and explanations thereofwill be omitted.

The message processing unit 45, in the case of sending communicationinformation according to an instruction of the user to the other mobiledevice, acquires the current position of the own vehicle 1 via the GPSprocessing unit 31, and acquires the current time from a clocking unit(not illustrated), creates communication information, and sends thecommunication information to the other information sending source viathe information sending unit 22.

(Message Icon Selection Button 1142B)

By the message icon selection button 1142B provided to the second buttonwidget 114B being depressed or tapped, a predetermined selection paneltable (hereinafter also referred to as “message icon selection paneltable”) is displayed on the display unit 11, and a list of message iconscorresponding to selectable stylized (and fixed) phrase messages isdisplayed.

In the case of sending a stylized (and fixed) phrase message to anothermobile device, by the user selecting a message icon corresponding to astylized (and fixed) phrase message sought to be sent by way of a tap,etc., for example, from a list of message icons displayed in the messageicon selection panel table, the message processing unit 45 sends thestylized (and fixed) phrase message corresponding to the selectedmessage icon to the mobile device corresponding to the user icondisplayed in the user icon display region B, via the wirelesscommunication unit 20.

It should be noted that it is possible to display by dividing thedisplay of message icons in the message icon selection panel table intotwo stages. In this case, among the two stages, it is possible to makeone as a fixed format aligning predetermined message icons, and make theother one a variable format switchable (scrollable) by way of a flip orthe like, for example. It is possible to improve the operability byallocating messages having a high frequency of use or messages that canreply to an immediate reply demand to the one stage on the fixed side.

The message processing unit 45 stores this sent information in the sentinformation history part 324 as log information.

The second display mode control section 432 can rearrange on the usericon display region B of the second button widget 114B in latestchronological order, including the own device (K).

In the second display, the second display mode control section 432displays the message icon corresponding to the above-mentioned stylized(and fixed) phrase message sent by the own device to be associated withthe user icon corresponding to the own device displayed in the user icondisplay region B to be next thereto, for example. It should be notedthat, immediately after message transmission, the sent message can bedisplayed to be large in order to emphasize as having been sent, andthen after the elapse of a predetermined time, this sent message can bereturned to normal size.

In this way, it is possible to easily understand intuitively the usericon corresponding to the mobile devices including currentlycommunicable own device and the message icon corresponding to the latestmessage transmitted by this mobile device, while prioritizing thecurrently traveled road map information.

Display Mode Switching Unit

As shown in FIG. 7E, in a state in which the map display screenprioritizing the own device position display on the road map is beingdisplayed by the second display mode control section 432 on the displayunit 11, it is possible to switch to display (full-screen display) bythe first display mode control section 431 by slide-in of the secondbutton widget 114B and tapping (or clicking) the screen switching button1141B.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7E, in a state in which full-screen displayis being displayed by the first display mode control section 431 on thedisplay unit 11, it is possible to switch to display (map display) bythe second display mode control section 432 by tapping (or clicking) theaforementioned back key.

In the above way, it is possible to enjoy the ideal screen displayaccording to the time, place, case, etc., by the user switching betweenthe map display screen on which the interchange of messages is possible,while confirming the positions of the own device and other devices onthe currently traveled road map, and chat display by the full-screendisplay. Then, it is possible to provide proper uses in the case ofprioritizing the display of chat information and the case ofprioritizing the own device position display, and thus the conveniencefor the user can be improved.

In addition, in the case of wanting to obtain detailed map informationincluding the own device position, since it is possible to switch thescreen from full-screen display to map display by way of a tap operationby the user, it is possible to view without interrupting information.

In addition, in the case of wanting to obtain the details of informationsent and received, since it is possible to switch the screen from mapdisplay to full-screen display by way of a tap operation by the user,the message information is displayed to be larger than other informationin the display unit 11; therefore, the visibility can be improved.Furthermore, since the relative position information is understood atthe same time collectively with a message, it is possible for thereceiver to understand the relationship with the sender, the situationof the sender, etc., and thus it is possible to aid in messageunderstanding and support driving information.

The embodiments of functional units of the electronic device 2, forexample, the wireless communication unit 20, GPS processing unit 31,control unit 40, relative position calculation unit 41, connectionprocessing unit 42, display control unit 43, first display mode controlsection 431, second display mode control section 432, display modeswitching unit 433, information setting unit 44, message processing unit45, etc. can be realized as computer programs for executing by aprogrammable processor or programmable computer.

In addition, the method steps of one embodiment of the present inventioncan be implemented by the electronic device 2 for implementing thefunctions of one embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, the method steps of one embodiment of the present inventioncan be implemented by one or a plurality of programmable processors orcomputers that execute a computer program for implementing the functionsof one embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, the method steps can also be implemented by a specialpurpose logical circuit, for example, FPGA or ASIC, firmware, or digitalelectronic circuit.

(Effects According to Second Embodiment)

The following such effects are exerted according to the secondembodiment explained above.

By way of the program, method and electronic device 2 for performing thestylized (and fixed) phrase message exchange of the above-mentionedembodiment, switching by a user between a chat display form by way offull-screen display and a chat display form on a map display screen thatprioritizes the own device position display on a road map is madepossible on the display unit 11 of the electronic device 2.

It is thereby possible to enjoy the ideal screen display depending onthe time, place, case, etc., by a user switching between a map displayscreen on which the interchange of messages is possible while confirmingthe positions of the own device and the other devices on the currentlytraveled road map, and chat display by way of full-screen display

Then, it is possible to provide proper uses in the case of prioritizingthe display of chat information and the case of prioritizing the owndevice position display, whereby the convenience for the user isimproved.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention are explainedabove, the present invention is not to be limited to the aforementionedembodiments, and modifications are possible where appropriate.

The display examples of the display unit 11 according to the firstembodiment and second embodiment establish portrait screens as examples;however, it is not limited to portrait screens. It may be established aslandscape instead of portrait. In addition, it may be established asportrait/landscape automatic switching. In other words, it may switchbetween portrait and landscape display automatically by tilting theelectronic device 2.

Although messages in the first embodiment and second embodiment areassociated with icons, it is not limited to icons. A short text messagemay be displayed directly on the display unit 11. For example, it may bea message written inside a balloon, i.e. framed character display.

Although the display unit 11 of the electronic device 2 according to thesecond embodiment is one screen, as a modified example, the display unit11 may be a unit equipped with two or more screens.

By configuring in this way, it is made possible to display a chatdisplay screen by the first display mode (full-screen display) accordingto the display control unit 43A on one screen of the display unit 11,and to display a chat display screen on the map display screen thatprioritizes the own device position display on a road map by the seconddisplay mode (road map display) according to the second display modecontrol section 432 on the other screen thereof.

In this case, without switching the display mode of the display unit 11,it is possible to parallel display: a chat display on a map displayscreen that enables confirming the positions of the own device and otherdevices on a currently traveled road map; and a chat display byfull-screen display whereby it is possible, upon making a conversationof chat format, to make an atmosphere of persons not speaking also beingpresent inside the loop of the story, thereby bringing about anatmosphere where the conversation is being enjoyed by everyone, and thusperform the exchange of messages in an enjoyable manner.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for an electronic device equipped with adisplay unit and a wireless communication unit to display, on thedisplay unit, information including user information related to asender, positional information of the sender and message informationdesired by the sender to be transmitted to a correspondence party whichare sent and received via the wireless communication unit, the methodcomprising the electronic device performing the steps of: calculatingrelative position information of the sender relative to an own devicebased on positional information of the sender; and displaying, on thedisplay unit, information including user information related to thesender and message information desired by the sender to be transmittedto a correspondence party which are sent and received via the wirelesscommunication unit, and relative position information of the senderrelative to the own device, wherein the step of displaying includes afirst display mode control step of displaying the user information andthe message information in a majority region including a central portionof the display unit, and displaying the relative position information ofthe sender relative to the own device, without displaying a position ona map.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first displaymode control step further includes: providing a third display regionthat is separate from the majority region in the display unit, anddisplaying the relative position information of the sender relative tothe own device in the third display region.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the first display mode control step displays therelative position information of the sender relative to the own devicein the majority region.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein therelative position information of the sender relative to the own deviceis displayed based on a relative distance between an own device positionand a current position of the sender.
 5. The method according to claim1, wherein the relative position information of the sender relative tothe own device is displayed based on an ahead/behind position from acurrent position of the sender in relation to a moving direction of theown device.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the relativeposition information of the sender relative to the own device isdisplayed based on a moving direction of the sender in relation to amoving direction of the own device.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the step of displaying further includes: a second display modecontrol step of displaying map information on the display unit, anddisplaying a current position of the own device and of the other devicethat is a communication connection party on the map information, basedon positional information of the own device and the current position ofthe other device that is the communication connection party; and adisplay mode switching step of switching between the first display modecontrol step and the second display mode control step, according to aninstruction from a user.
 8. A method for an electronic device equippedwith a display unit and a wireless communication unit to display, on thedisplay unit, information including user information related to asender, positional information of the sender and message informationdesired by the sender to be transmitted to a correspondence party whichare sent and received via the wireless communication unit, the methodcomprising the electronic device performing the steps of: calculatingrelative position information of the sender relative to an own devicebased on positional information of the sender; and displaying, on thedisplay unit, information including user information related to thesender and message information desired by the sender to be transmittedto a correspondence party which are sent and received via the wirelesscommunication unit, and relative position information of the senderrelative to the own device, wherein the step of displaying includes afirst display mode control step of displaying the user information andthe message information by providing a display region in the displayunit, and displaying the relative position information of the senderrelative to the own device in a separate display region that is smallerthan said display region, without displaying a position on a map.
 9. Themethod according to claim 8, wherein the step of displaying furtherincludes: a second display mode control step of displaying mapinformation on the display unit, and displaying the own device and acurrent position of the other device that is a communication connectionparty on the map information, based on positional information of the owndevice and the current position of the other device that is thecommunication connection party; and a display mode switching step ofswitching between the first display mode control step and the seconddisplay mode control step, according to an instruction from a user. 10.The method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unitperforms direct wireless communication.
 11. An electronic devicecomprising: a display unit; a wireless communication unit that receivesinformation including user information related to a sender, positionalinformation of the sender, and message information desired by the senderto be transmitted to a correspondence party; a relative positioncalculation unit that calculates relative position information of thesender relative to an own device based on the positional information;and a display control unit that displays, on the display unit, theinformation including the user information related to the sender, andthe message information desired by the sender to be transmitted to thecorrespondence party which are sent and received via the wirelesscommunication unit, and the relative position information of the senderrelative to the own device, wherein the display control unit includes afirst display mode control section that displays the user informationand the message information in a majority region including a centralportion of the display unit, as well as displaying the relative positioninformation of the sender relative to the own device, without displayinga position on a map.
 12. The electronic device according to claim 11,wherein the display control unit further includes: a second display modecontrol section that displays map information on the display unit, anddisplays the own device and a current position of other device that is acommunication connection party on the map information, based on thepositional information of the own device and the current position of theother device that is the communication connection party; and a displaymode switching unit that switches between display by the first displaymode control section, and display by the second display mode controlsection, according to an instruction from a user.
 13. A method for anelectronic device equipped with a display unit and a wirelesscommunication unit to display information on the display unit, themethod comprising a display control step of the electronic devicedisplaying, on the display unit, information including user informationrelated to a sender and message information desired by the sender to betransmitted to a correspondence party which are sent and received viathe wireless communication unit, wherein the display control stepincludes: a first display mode control step of providing a first displayregion including a central portion of the display unit, and a seconddisplay region positioned at the periphery of the first display regionto the display unit; displaying the user information sent and receivedvia the wireless communication unit in either one display region amongthe first display region and the second display region; and displayingthe message information in the other display region among the firstdisplay region and the second display region.
 14. The method accordingto claim 13, wherein the first display mode control step furtherincludes: displaying the message information as an icon or a framedcharacter display; displaying the user information related to the senderas an icon; and in a case of making communication connection between aplurality of users including oneself via the wireless communicationunit, and displaying a plurality of the user information or the messageinformation in the second display region, assigning, with a reference ofan arrangement of the user information or the message informationdisplayed first, an arrangement of the user information or the messageinformation to be displayed second and later, based on a number of usersincluding oneself being in communication connection.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 14, wherein the first display mode control stepfurther includes: displaying the second display region in at least anarc/U-shape, preferably a circumferential shape; and in a case of makingcommunication connection between a plurality of users including oneselfvia the wireless communication unit, and displaying a plurality of theuser information or the message information in the second displayregion, assigning an arrangement of the user information or the messageinformation to be displayed second and later, by dividing by the numberof users including oneself being in communication connection, with areference of an arrangement of the user information or the messageinformation displayed first.
 16. The method according to claim 14,wherein the first display mode control step further includes: settingthe second display region by dividing by an arbitrary displayable numberin advance; and in a case of making communication connection between aplurality of users including oneself via the wireless communicationunit, and displaying a plurality of the user information or the messageinformation in the second display region, assigning an arrangement ofthe user information or the message information to be displayed secondand later in the second display region that was set by dividing.
 17. Themethod according to claim 13, wherein the display control step furtherincludes: a second display mode control step of displaying mapinformation in a central portion of the display unit based on positionalinformation of the own device, and displaying the own device and acurrent position of another device that is a communication connectionparty on the display unit; and a display mode switching step ofswitching between the first display mode control step, and the seconddisplay mode control step, according to an instruction from a user. 18.The method according to claim 17, wherein the second display modecontrol step further displays map information in a central portion ofthe display unit, and displays the user information and the messageinformation in a peripheral portion of the display unit.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 18, wherein the second display mode control stepfurther arranges a widget that can be made to slide-in and slide-out atthe peripheral portion of the display unit, and selectively displays theuser information and the message information by the widget.
 20. Themethod according to claim 18, wherein the second display mode controlstep further displays, by way of an icon, user information related tothe user and at least a part of message information desired by the userto be transmitted to a correspondence party.
 21. The method according toclaim 13, wherein the wireless communication unit performs directwireless communication.
 22. An electronic device comprising: a displayunit; a wireless communication unit; and a display control unit thatdisplays information including user information related to a sender andmessage information desired by the sender to be transmitted to acorrespondence party, which are sent and received via the wirelesscommunication unit, wherein the display control unit includes: a firstdisplay mode control section that provides a first display regionincluding a central portion of the display unit, and a second displayregion positioned at the periphery of the first display region in thedisplay unit; displays the user information sent and received via thewireless communication unit in either one display region among the firstdisplay region and the second display region, and displays the messageinformation in the other display region among the first display regionand the second display region.
 23. The electronic device according toclaim 22, wherein the display control unit further includes: a seconddisplay mode control section that displays, on the display unit, mapinformation in a central portion of the display unit based on positionalinformation of an own device, and displays the own device and a currentposition of an other device that is a communication connection party;and a display mode switching unit that switches between display by thefirst display mode control section and display by the second displaymode control section, according to an instruction from a user.